Tuesday evening, President Trump that the United States could “take over” from the Gaza Strip and that its Palestinian population could be moved permanently was immediately criticized in the Middle East and beyond.
At a joint press conference of the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, Mr. Trump said: “The United States will take control of the Gaza Strip, and we will also work with. “” He said that the enclave, which was devastated by more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas, could be redeveloped and transformed into “the riviera of the Middle East”.
Riyad Mansour, the head of the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations, said on social networks instead of being moved to other countries, the Palestinians of Gaza should be allowed to recover what was formerly Palestinian houses in Israel.
“For those who want to send” gas “to a” beautiful place “,” ” Mr. Mansour saidUsing a language that Mr. Trump had used: “Let them come back, you know, in their original houses inside Israel. There are beautiful places there, and they will be happy to return to these places. »»
He added that the Palestinians wanted to rebuild Gaza themselves and urged the world leaders to respect their wishes.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia published a statement that did not refer directly to Mr. Trump’s remarks, although the moment suggested that it was a response to his proposal. The ministry declared that he reaffirmed his “complete rejection of any offense to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, the annexation of the Palestinian lands or tries to move the Palestinian people of their land . “
“The duty of the international community today is to work to mitigate the serious human sufferings that have been inflicted on the Palestinian people, who will remain attached to their land and will not withdraw,” said the ministry.
In the United States, Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, Said that mr. Trump’s proposition-Which Flies in the Face of Decades Of Debate Over How To Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict-Was Meant To Distract People from Elon Musk’s Sweeps Reduce the US government on behalf of Mr. Trump.
“I have news for you – we are not taking control of Gaza,” said Murphy on social networks. “But the media and the chatter class will focus on him for a few days and Trump will have managed to distract everyone from the real story – billionaires entering the government to steal ordinary people.”
Another Democratic senator, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, described Mr. Trump’s proposal “ethnic cleaning by another name”, adding: “This declaration will give ammunition to Iran and other opponents while knowing our Arab partners in the region ”.
A former member of the Michigan Republican Congress, Justin Amash, whose family is of Palestinian origin, also compared Mr. Trump’s proposal to ethnic cleaning. “If the United States deploys troops to force Muslims and Christians- like my cousins- from Gaza, then not only will the United States be mired in another reckless occupation, but it will also be guilty of crime ethnic cleaning “,” He said. “No American of good conscience should defend this.”
On Saturday, a large group of Arab nations had rejected a previous suggestion from Mr. Trump according to which the Gazans to be transferred to Egypt and Jordan – a proposal that did not mention the United States by taking control of the enclave . In a joint press release, countries said such a plan would risk the conflict in the Middle East more.
The declaration, signed by officials of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, said that any plan encouraging the “transfer or uprooting the Palestinians of their land” would threaten the stability of the Region and “would undermine the chances of peace and coexistence among its inhabitants. “”
Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the American-Islamic Relations Council, rejected the proposal of Trump on Tuesday in a statement, saying that the forced expulsion of the Palestinians of Gaza would arouse conflicts, my reputation from the United States and would return International law devoid of meaning. (When asked on Tuesday if he would force the Palestinians to leave, Mr. Trump said: “I don’t think they are going to tell me no.”)
“Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not in the United States, and President Trump’s call to move the Palestinians from their lands temporarily or permanently is an absolute non-damage,” Awad said in his declaration. “Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the whole Muslim world have clearly indicated that this delirious idea is unacceptable.”
The Minister of Finance of Israel, Bezalel Smotrich, who argues that Israel should annex the Palestinian territories, seemed to be delighted with Mr. Trump’s proposal. In an article on social networks after Mr. Trump’s comments, he thanked the president in Hebrew without specifying for which he thanked him, and he said: “Even better and even better.”
In English, Next to the emojis of Israeli and American flagsMr. Smotrich added: “Together we will return the big world to the world.”
Liam battery Contributed reports.
