Israel receives renewed US warnings to refrain from attacking Rafah

The U.S. president reiterated his view that a military operation should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for civilians in Rafah, says the White House

U.S. President Joe Biden warned in a new call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday against Israel launching an operation on the Gaza Strip city of Rafah without a plan to keep civilians safe.

“The President… reiterated his view that a military operation should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the civilians in Rafah,” a readout of the call from the White House said.

A day earlier, Netanyahu said he rejected a plan for international recognition of a Palestinian state, saying such an initiative “would offer an enormous reward to terrorism.”

Netanyahu’s comments follow a similar rejection by influential far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who responded to reports of the plan in The Washington Post.

The newspaper report, which cited several U.S. and Arab diplomats, said that the United States, Israel’s main ally, was working with several Arab countries on a comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Source: AFP