Palestine PM calls for deal to implement 2-state solution
Mohammad Shtayyeh was speaking at Germany’s Munich Security Conference on Sunday
Ankara, Turkey - Palestine’s prime minister on Sunday called for a deal to take place between the Palestinian resistance and Israel ‘as soon as possible’.
Speaking at Germany’s Munich Security Conference, Mohammad Shtayyeh said: “All our eyes are focused on the suffering of the Palestinians both in Gaza and the West Bank,” adding: “What is needed immediately is a ceasefire, and even more, to allow international aid into Gaza.”
He stressed: “We would like to see the release of all the hostages and we would like to see a deal … in the making as soon as possible because every single day that is delayed, it means more killings, it means more sufferings and it means more disaster for the people.”
“We need to move from talking about a two-state solution into implementing it,” he said.
“We should not allow the circle of violence to repeat itself,” he added.
The Munich Security Conference is concluding on Sunday with leaders’ speeches and highlevel talks on security challenges around the world, especially concerning the war in Ukraine and Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Gaza death toll climbs to 28,985
At least 127 Palestinians were killed and 205 others injured in the last 24 hours as Israel continues its onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Sunday.
“The Israeli occupation committed 13 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 127 martyrs and 205 injured during the past 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the statement said.
Flouting the International Court of Justice’s provisional ruling, Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip where at least 28,985 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 68,883 injured since October 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.
The Israeli offensive has left 85 per cent of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
WHO chief voices concerns
The head of the World Health Organization on Sunday voiced grave concerns over the deteriorating situation at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, stressing the urgent need for access to patients and medical facilities.
“Nasser hospital in Gaza is not functional anymore, after a weeklong siege followed by the ongoing raid,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.
Despite concerted efforts by a WHO team and its partners, access to the hospital for assessing patients and critical medical needs was denied, he underlined.
“Both yesterday and the day before, the WHO team was not permitted to enter the hospital to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel alongside partners,” he said.
According to Tedros, nearly 200 patients still remain within the hospital, with at least 20 needing immediate referral to other healthcare facilities ‘to receive health care; medical referral is every patient’s right’.
“The cost of delays will be paid by patients’ lives. Access to the patients and hospital should be facilitated,” he urged.
The Palestinian Health Ministry on Friday said at least five patients died at the hospital due to a power outage after the Israeli army raided the facility.
The Israeli army on Thursday stormed the hospital, forcing everyone inside to evacuate and flee for their lives. Yet a small medical team stayed inside to take care of patients in critical condition, who were all held in one building of the hospital by the Israeli army amid a lack of basic needs. Since January 22, Khan Younis has witnessed a massive Israeli ground invasion, forcing tens of thousands of the city’s residents to flee.
All our eyes are focused on the suffering of the Palestinians both in Gaza and the West Bank. What is needed immediately is a ceasefire