Gaza should be a key part of a future Palestinian state, a European Union foreign policy spokesman said, adding that the bloc was committed to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
President Donald Trump has suggested that the United States take over war-torn Gaza after relocating Palestinians elsewhere. The comments have drawn global condemnation.
“We have taken note of President Trump’s comments. The EU remains firmly committed to a two-state solution, which we believe is the only path to lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians,” the EU spokesman said.
Gaza is an integral part of a future Palestinian state, he added.
Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing, said United Nations (UN) spokesman Stephane Dujarric, responding to a question about whether Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “take over the Gaza Strip” and relocate Palestinians is “ethnic cleansing”.
Although Dujarric avoided making a direct comment on Trump’s plan for Gaza, he announced that Guterres would speak at a meeting organized by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP).
Responding to a question about whether Guterres fears that Trump’s statements could “further encourage further destruction in the Palestinian territories” and “set a dangerous precedent”, Dujarric recalled the current situation in the world with ongoing crises.
“We (UN, ed.), as a matter of rules, as a matter of principle, support efforts to resolve conflicts through dialogue, through negotiations that respect the rights and dignity of all involved,” Dujarric said.
Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza first emerged after a ceasefire in the enclave took effect on January 19, halting an Israeli war that has killed more than 47,400 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins.
“The United States will take over the Gaza Strip,” Trump said after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He reiterated that Gaza’s population should be resettled in countries like Jordan and Egypt, while the United States would turn the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
