RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected on Wednesday US President Donald Trump's proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle Palestinians elsewhere. "We will not allow the rights of our people, for which we have struggled for decades, to be infringed upon," Abbas said in a statement. "These calls represent a serious violation of international law, and peace and stability in the region will not be achieved without the establishment of the Palestinian state," he added.
According to Anadolu Agency, Trump announced during a press conference in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US "will take over" Gaza after relocating Palestinians under a redevelopment plan. This plan, he claimed, could transform the enclave into "the Riviera of the Middle East." Abbas reaffirmed that the Gaza Strip "is an integral part of the Palestinian land" alongside the West Bank and East Jerusalem. He emphasized that "the legitimate Palestinian rights are non-negotiable," asserting that only the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) can make decisions regarding the future of the Palestinian people.
The Palestinian leader called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council to uphold international resolutions and protect the Palestinian people's rights. Trump's comments on January 25, suggesting relocating Palestinians from Gaza to Jordan and Egypt, were met with rejection from both Amman and Cairo. The proposal was criticized as labeling Gaza a "demolition site" following Israel's war.
A six-nation Arab ministerial meeting in Cairo on Saturday firmly opposed displacing Palestinians from Gaza and reiterated the call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump's proposal followed a ceasefire agreement in Gaza on January 19, which halted Israel's war that resulted in over 47,500 Palestinian deaths and left the area devastated.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Additionally, Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice concerning its actions in the enclave.