Netanyahu is prolonging Gaza war to stay in power, Palestinian FM claims

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “prolonging the war on the Gaza Strip with the aim of remaining in power” in a statement to Arabic media on Wednesday.

The comments came during a visit by South African Ambassador Shaun Byneveldt to the Palestinian Authority's headquarters in Ramallah.

"Netanyahu is not interested in a ceasefire. On the contrary, he wants to prolong the war for as long as possible so that he can remain in power," Maliki said.

He accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, saying, "There are approximately 600,000 Palestinians on the brink of starvation," he also chastised the international community for not putting enough pressure on Netanyahu to agree a ceasefire.

Increased pressure on Israel

Maliki called on the international community to assume more responsibility for the Palestinian issue, calling for increased pressure in the United Nations Security Council. He singled out the United States as a key factor in achieving this.

He warned Israel against increased raids into Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, which would "provoke retaliation" against the IDF by camp residents.

Maliki's comments came the same day as Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi called on the European Union to pressure Netanyahu to bring an end to the war.

Safadi said, "The Israeli prime minister cannot be allowed to continue undermining the security of the entire region."

"He cannot be allowed to continue this war, and the world cannot accept that children die of hunger, mothers die of thirst, and that about 1.7 million Palestinians are displaced, especially since Israel continues to prevent the entry of sufficient aid to meet the needs of the Palestinians," he told his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares.