Jordan's king and Palestinian leader warn against escalation in Gaza

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan's King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Thursday for steps to prevent a deterioration in the Gaza crisis and they condemned what they called Israel's "collective punishment" of Palestinians.

In a statement after a meeting in Amman, they also warned against a "rise in violence and its spread" as a humanitarian crisis worsens amid Israel's intense bombing campaign in Gaza after a devastating cross-border attack by Hamas.

Both leaders met ahead of talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken who was expected to arrive later on Thursday from Israel and meet the king and Abbas to discuss ways to defuse the Gaza crisis, officials said.

Abdullah and Abbas also called on the international community to pressure Israel to allow humanitarian corridors into Gaza to allow food and aid as NGOs and aid groups warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave.

Israel announced a total siege on Gaza on Monday, home to 2.3 million people, blocking the entry of food, fuel and water into the coastal territory and shuttering all crossing points.

Jordan has sent a military plane with medical aid to the Egyptian city of Rafah in Sinai, Egypt, to try to get Israel to allow the cargo into the enclave through a single border crossing with Gaza.

Jordan's interior ministry also said they would not allow protesters planning anti-Israeli marches to reach the border zone with the West Bank, where it said this area was a closed to civilians.

Amman, which lost the West Bank including East Jerusalem to Israel during the 1967 Middle East war, is worried widening violence could have repercussions with a large percentage of Jordan’s population made up of Palestinians.

The outpouring of anger against Israel also fueled a large rally on Tuesday in downtown Amman. Security has been stepped up ahead of a large rally on Friday called by the Islamist movement, Jordan's main political opposition, officials said.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; editing by Mark Heinrich and Jonathan Oatis)