Arab ministers reject Trump’s call to displace Palestinians from Gaza

The foreign ministers of five Arab countries issued a joint statement explicitly rejecting any actions that would force Palestinians to leave their homes. This statement, released on Saturday, expressed a unified opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal that Egypt and Jordan receive Palestinians from Gaza.

The foreign ministers and officials from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the Palestinian Authority, and the Arab League stated that Trump's proposal would threaten regional stability, exacerbate conflict, and undermine prospects for peace. The statement emphasized, "We firmly oppose any attempt to compromise the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, whether through settlement activities, expulsions, annexation of land, or forcing landowners to leave in any form, under any circumstances, or for any reason."

The meeting was held after Trump stated last week that Egypt and Jordan should receive Palestinians from Gaza. Trump referred to Gaza as a "ruin" following 15 months of Israeli bombing that has left the majority of the region's 2.3 million people homeless. Egypt and Jordan, key U.S. allies in the region, have repeatedly rejected Trump's proposal to "clean up" Gaza. Jordan is home to millions of Palestinians, while Egypt also hosts tens of thousands.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi also publicly opposed Trump's idea on Wednesday, stating that the Egyptian people would take to the streets to express their discontent. "To displace the Palestinian people from their land is unjust, and we cannot participate in it," he added. However, Trump reiterated his idea on Thursday, saying, "We've done a lot for them, and they'll do that," apparently referring to the substantial aid, including military assistance, that the U.S. provides to Egypt and Jordan.

Analysts have equated Trump's proposal to ethnic cleansing. Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine-Israel program at the Arab Center Washington, told Al Jazeera earlier this week that Trump's "outrageous" remarks should be condemned as they violate all norms and basic rights. "Trump says all kinds of things," Munayyer explained, suggesting that the U.S. President's statements should be taken with caution. "Sometimes, they are what he thinks. Sometimes, they are not what he thinks. Sometimes, they are what he heard in a conversation five minutes ago. Sometimes, they are what he thought he heard but misunderstood."

On Saturday, the foreign ministers emphasized that they "look forward to working with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on a two-state solution." They also welcomed Egypt's plan to hold an international conference with the United Nations in the near future, focusing on the reconstruction of Gaza, and affirmed the "critical, indispensable, and irreplaceable role" of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza, a region that has been nearly flattened during the 15-month war between Israel and Hamas.