Abbas urges Assad to 'spare Palestinians in Syria'
Palestinian president condemns shelling of Yarmouk refugee camp; urges international community to protect Palestinians in Syria
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a rare statement, condemned Syrian President Bashar Assad's violence against rebels.
Abbas condemned Damascus for its shelling of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp earlier Sunday. Some 25 people were killed in the attack.
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Abbas, who is visiting Rome, added that the Palestinian Authority was "Following, with great concern, the fact that our people are being forced into the unfortunate conflict in Syria."
The Palestinian president has refrained from speaking against the Syrian regime so far, stating that Ramallah does not interfere in other regimes' internal affairs.
Still, on Sunday he urged "All parties involved in the Syrian conflict to refrain from harming our people in the refugee camps. Don't drag them into your fighting."
He further urged the international community to protect Palestinians in Syria.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad also condemned the attack, saying that Assad should "keep them out" of the country's civil war.
Secretary General of the PLO's Executive Committee Yasser Abed Rabbo also addressed the attack on Yarmouk, saying it "Serves as indication to the destructive and homicidal ways of the Syrian regime."
Hamas member Izzat al-Rishak also slammed the attack.
You can contact Elior Levy, Ynet's Palestinian Affairs Correspondent, at: [email protected]
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