The ambassador of Palestine to Nigeria, Abdallah Shawesh, has alleged that Israel is planning to expel Palestinian people to Egypt.
He made the allegation while addressing a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, a day after a rocket strike hit a Christian-run Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza City which killed at least 500 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-led Gaza health ministry.
World leaders have condemned the incident and protests have erupted around the Arab world and Muslim countries but the Israeli military and Palestinian militant groups have traded blame for the strike.
Shawesh said the attack was carried out by Israel as part of its plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza, saying “Yesterday, immediately after this horrific attack, the designated digital spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister, Hanania Naftali, published a tweet admitting that Israel had bombed the Baptist Hospital in Gaza. Later on, he deleted his tweet.”
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He expressed dismay that Western leaders were supporting Israel in actualising its plans to push Palestinians away from their lands.
“The double standards, the hypocrisy, and the full support and sponsorship of many Western countries encourage Israel to implement its old plans of expelling the Palestinian people from Gaza to Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, in a cluster clear attempt to repeat the ethnic cleansing that the Palestinians were subjected to in 1948.
“International law must be respected, especially international humanitarian law and human rights law. There should be no exception or impunity for Israel, and it should not be above the law.
“It is time for the international community to stand firm and united in support of the international law,” he said.
The ambassador said his country is ready to sit down with Israel to resolve their differences, adding that Palestine had always been in favour of dialogue that would result in a two-state situation.
“We are ready to go to the negotiation table. Israel is the one not ready for discussion,” Shawesh said.
When asked if Palestine is ready to give Hamas up to return to the negotiation table with Israel, he said: “Resistance is a natural behaviour in all people.
“All Palestinian people are fighting Israeli occupation. It’s not about Hamas. If Hamas is not there, we will still resist Israel’s occupation. Our resistance is legitimate.”
He called for a two-state solution, adding that the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza belong to the Palestinian people.
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