Abbas calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting to stop Israeli attacks

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Sunday for the convening of an emergency session of the UN Security Council to stop Israel's attacks against Palestinians following the demolition of residential blocks in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank.

Earlier in the day, Bashir Matahen, the director of public relations and media for Jenin municipality, told Anadolu that the Israeli army had blown up 21 homes in three neighborhoods of the camp, warning that "the explosions will continue, according to what the Israeli army has informed Palestinian officials."

Abbas requested "an urgent and emergency session of the UN Security Council to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people," the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

In his request, according to the agency, he referred to "the occupation forces' destruction of entire residential blocks in the Jenin and Tulkarm camps, the bombing of dozens of homes and the forcing of citizens to flee their homes in Tamoun and the Far'a camp in Tubas, and the systematic destruction of the infrastructure."

He also addressed the "Israeli policy of killing that led to the killing of dozens of citizens, the wounding of hundreds, the arrest of thousands, colonists' terrorism, and the burning of citizens' homes and properties, all of which aim to displace Palestinian people from their land and homeland."

The Palestinian presidency called on the international community "to intervene urgently and assume its responsibilities to provide international protection for the Palestinian people and to pressure the occupying state to stop its serious crimes represented in the displacement of Palestinian citizens," according to the agency.

It also called on the US administration "to intervene immediately and force Israel to stop the destruction and displacement operations and to prevent escalation and tension resulting from this policy, the destructive effects of which will be reflected in the entire region."

It considered that the Israeli army "is completing its plans that it started in the Gaza Strip to displace the Palestinian people by blowing up homes and residential neighborhoods with the aim of imposing its rejected and condemned plans."

The presidency stressed that the Palestinian people "will meet with steadfastness on their land in defense and preservation of their history and sanctities, and it is capable of thwarting these displacement plans, just as it has previously thwarted all projects that targeted their struggle, legitimate rights and constants, from which they will not deviate."

The presidency warned "of the danger of these destructive actions carried out by the occupation forces and their serious repercussions on the Palestinian people and the entire region, which will not achieve peace and security for anyone."

On Jan. 21, the Israeli army launched an assault on Jenin city and its refugee camp, killing at least 25 Palestinians. The offensive was later expanded to include the city of Tulkarm, where three Palestinians were killed.

The escalation in the West Bank came after a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal took hold in Gaza on Jan. 19 following 15 months of Israel's genocidal war that killed over 47,400 Palestinians and reduced the enclave to rubble.

Since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023, more than 900 Palestinians have been killed across the occupied West Bank in attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.