Islam Times - Arab Nations Decry Trump’s Plan to Displace Gazans in Letter to US

Islam Times - The foreign ministers of five Arab countries and a senior Palestinian official have expressed their opposition to US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to forcibly expel people from the Gaza Strip and relocate them to neighboring states.

In a joint letter sent to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, the top diplomats of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, as well as Palestinian presidential adviser Hussein al-Sheikh warned that the proposed deportation of Palestinians from their land will push West Asia towards more tensions.

“Not only will such a move be a clear violation of international law. It will be a threat to regional stability and security,” they emphasized.

On January 25, Trump touted a plan to “clean out” the Gaza Strip and relocate its residents to Jordan and Egypt either “temporarily or long-term.”

The remarks sparked widespread condemnations from Palestine, the UN and the Arab world as a potentially fatal blow to the so-called two-state solution to the “Israeli”-Palestinian conflict.

Two days later, Trump once again called for Palestinians to move to “safer” locations, citing Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as likely partners to his scheme. Both heads of state, however, stressed their rejection of the plan.

On January 30, the US president insisted Jordan and Egypt would take in displaced Gazans, noting, “They’re going to do it. We do a lot for them, and they’re going to do it.”

Trump has insisted that Egypt and Jordan would accept displaced Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, despite the two nations having dismissed his plan to relocate Gazans there.

Also in their letter, the Arab foreign ministers and the Palestinian official said the region is already "burdened" by the largest displaced and refugee populations in the world.

"We must be vigilant not to increase the risk to regional stability by further displacement, even if only temporary as it increases the risk of radicalization and unrest in the region as a whole," they added.

They further stressed that any reconstruction in Gaza needs to take place with the involvement of its Palestinian residents.

"Palestinians do not want to leave their land. We support their position unequivocally," they said, noting that the so-called two-state framework is the only viable path to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.

Additionally on Monday, Akef al-Masry, head of the Supreme Authority for Palestinian Tribes in the Gaza Strip, said that Trump's Gaza plan is in line with the colonial policies aimed at liquidating the Palestinian issue and the nation's legitimate rights.

The Palestinian people will not abandon their land, no matter how much pressure or challenges they are facing, he pointed out.

"We oppose any attempt to displace the Palestinians from their land, whether through military action or political pressure," Masry said, adding, "We are a steadfast nation and we will not allow a repetition of the Nakba of 1948."

He noted that true peace will not be possible without an end of Israeli occupation and the realization of justice for the Palestinian people.