Palestinian presidency accuses Israel of 'ethnic cleansing' in West Bank

The office of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Monday denounced an ongoing Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, saying it was aimed at "ethnic cleansing" and urging the United States to intervene.

In a statement, spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the presidency "condemned the occupation authorities' expansion of their comprehensive war on our Palestinian people in the West Bank to implement their plans aimed at displacing citizens and ethnic cleansing".

"We demand the intervention of the US administration before it is too late, to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against our people and our land," Rudeineh told the Palestinian official news agency WAFA in a statement coinciding with a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.

The Israeli military launched a major offensive in the West Bank on January 21 aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed groups from the Jenin area, which has long been a hotbed of militancy.

On Sunday, the army said it had killed over 50 "terrorists" both during the operation and advanced aerial strikes beginning a week prior.

Netanyahu is visiting Washington where he is expected to begin talks on a second phase of Israel's truce with Hamas in Gaza on Monday.

The next stage is expected to cover the release of the remaining captives and include discussions on a more permanent end to the war.

Before departing, Netanyahu told reporters he believed "working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it (Middle East's map) even further and for the better."

Trump has repeatedly touted a plan to "clean out" Gaza, calling for Palestinians to move to neighbouring countries such as Egypt or Jordan.

Abbas's office said in the statement the "Palestinian people will not accept any plans, whether displacement or an alternative homeland".

© Agence France-Presse