When asked if the Palestinians would be authorized to return to Gaza as part of his plan, the American president said: “No, they would not do it”.
Washington, DC – The President of the United States, Donald Trump, confirmed that his mass travel proposal in Gaza does not include a right of return for the Palestinians in the enclave.
In an interview with Fox News, partially broadcast on Monday, Trump also reiterated his thrust to “own” Gaza.
When asked if the Palestinians would be authorized to return to their territory as part of his plan, Trump said: “No, they would not.”
The American president’s plan to empty Gaza of its population has been rejected forcefully through the Middle East – including by Egypt and Jordan, the main countries that Trump says that he wants to welcome displaced Palestinians.
Rights defense groups also condemned the thrust, saying that this would be equivalent to ethnic cleaning.
Trump’s assertion that he seeks permanent displacement of people in Gaza seems to contradict the recent comments of his aid who said that residents of the enclave could return after the reconstruction of the area.
Last week, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that the inhabitants of Gaza would be “temporarily relocated”.
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, also said that the displacement of the Palestinians in Gaza would be in “the interval”, and that the residents could “return” after the reconstruction.
In his interview with Fox News, Trump suggested that the United States would help in Jordan and Egypt for the two countries to welcome the displaced Palestinians.
“I think I could conclude an agreement with Jordan. I think I could conclude an agreement with Egypt. You know, we give them billions and billions of dollars a year, “said the American president.
He added that the Palestinians would live in “beautiful communities” far from Gaza. “In the meantime, I would have this. Consider it as a real estate development for the future, “he said.
The plan for the United States to resume Gaza has raised eyebrows around the world. Washington has no legal demands in the territory and the United Nations Charter prohibits the acquisition of land by force.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the War of Israel supported by the United States against the enclave has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians. The Gaza Government Media Bureau brought the number of deaths to more than 61,700, including thousands of missing people who are presumed dead.
The Israeli offensive has transformed a large part of Gaza into rubble. But residents of the territory are committed to staying firmly in their country.
Local authorities pleaded for tents and mobile houses to house people until the beginning of reconstruction, accusing Israel of having hindered the aid in violation of the cease-fire agreement.
Last week, Amnesty International warned that systemic efforts to expel Palestinians in Gaza could be a crime against humanity.
“Amnesty International also warns against the excessive use of humanitarian aid and reconstruction desperately necessary as a negotiation currency or as a means of constraining the Palestinians in Gaza to leave,” said the leader of Agnes Callamard in a press release.
“No state has the right to treat a protected population living under occupation as pawns in a geopolitical failure game.”
In 1994, the United Nations experts defined ethnic cleaning as “a targeted policy designed by an ethnic or religious group to be removed by violent and inspiring areas of terrorism means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group of certain areas geographic “.