Addis Ababa: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday firmly rejected any attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their homeland. "Anyone who thinks they can impose a new 'Deal of the Century' or displace the Palestinian people from their homeland is deluded," Abbas stated at the 38th African Union Summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

According to Anadolu Agency, Abbas emphasized that 'calls to remove the Palestinian people from their land and forcefully displace them were merely a diversion from the war crimes, genocide, and destruction in Gaza, as well as the crimes of settlement expansion and attempts to annex the West Bank.' He further insisted that the 1.5 million refugees residing in Gaza should be allowed to return to their original cities and villages from which they were displaced in 1948, in line with United Nations Resolution 194.

Abbas also called for urgent international intervention, stating that 'Israeli colonial practices require urgent action from the international community and the UN Security Council to prevent the rise of extremist forces that seek to bury the two-state solution.' He appealed for support for an international peace conference slated to take place at the UN in mid-June, aiming to garner global recognition for the state of Palestine, secure full UN membership, and promote the two-state solution based on international law.

The comments come in response to suggestions from US President Donald Trump about "taking over" Gaza and resettling Palestinians to neighboring countries while transforming the enclave into 'the Riviera of the Middle East.' This proposal, part of Trump's "deal of the century" unveiled in 2020 to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, faced widespread criticism from the Arab world and beyond.

A ceasefire agreement, effective January 19, halted the genocidal war in Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of over 48,000 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, and left the area devastated.