The Palestinian Authority rejects the deployment of international troops in the Gaza Strip

He says that this force “would have no legitimacy” and that only the Palestinians “can decide who manages their affairs.”

Jul 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Palestinian Authority presidency has rejected any plan to deploy an international force in the Gaza Strip following the end of Israel’s military offensive against the enclave following the attacks carried out on October 7 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian factions.

“A foreign presence in Palestinian territory would have no legitimacy and only the Palestinian people can decide who governs it and manages its affairs,” said Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

“We will not accept or allow the presence of foreign forces on our territory, whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip,” he said, stressing that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is “the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, with legal jurisdiction over the entire territory of the State of Palestine.”

Thus, he has maintained that “the occupation government and its president are deceiving themselves if they think that they can decide the future of the Palestinian people and consolidate the occupation by recruiting foreign forces to replace the occupiers in the Gaza Strip,” as reported by the agency. Palestinian WAFA News.

Abu Rudeina’s words have come after official sources cited by Israeli media pointed to the possibility of deploying an international force to take control of the situation in Gaza in the face of the withdrawal of the military deployed for nearly nine months. in the Palestinian enclave

Abbas’s spokesman also reiterated his rejection of the announcement by Israel’s Finance Minister, ultra-nationalist Bezalel Smotrich, on the legalisation of five settlements in the West Bank, saying that “it is part of the total war unleashed against the Palestinian people, their land and their holy places.”

Smotrich announced the decision on Friday, arguing that the aim was to “protect Israel’s security” and to give an “appropriate” response to the decision by five countries – Spain, Norway, Ireland, Slovenia and Armenia – to recognise the State of Palestine. All settlements are illegal under international law, although Israel distinguishes between those for which it has given permission and those for which it has not.