The Palestinian president says he is ready to take in Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria's civil war.

Mahmoud Abbas says he has asked U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to help in bringing the refugees to the Palestinian territories. This could include the West Bank, where Abbas governs, or the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The request was reported Wednesday by the official Wafa news agency. It follows an attack by Syrian warplanes against a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus.

The statement says there are 450,000 Palestinian refugees living in 10 camps in Syria. Abbas says the biggest camp, Yarmouk, "has been through a difficult situation due to the escalating conflict in Syria."

Any movement of refugees into the West Bank would need the consent of Israel.

Israel's Foreign Ministry had no comment.