In a joint letter sent to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, the top diplomats of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, as well as Palestinian presidential adviser Hussein al-Sheikh warned that the proposed deportation of Palestinians from their land will push West Asia towards more tensions, PressTV reported.
“Not only will such a move be a clear violation of international law. It will be a threat to regional stability and security,” they emphasized.
On January 25, Trump touted a plan to “clean out” the Gaza Strip and relocate its residents to Jordan and Egypt either “temporarily or long-term.”
The remarks sparked widespread condemnations from Palestine, the UN, and the Arab world as a potentially fatal blow to the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Two days later, Trump once again called for Palestinians to move to “safer” locations, citing Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as likely partners to his scheme. Both heads of state, however, stressed their rejection of the plan.
On January 30, the US president insisted Jordan and Egypt would take in displaced Gazans, noting, “They’re going to do it. We do a lot for them, and they’re going to do it.”
Also in their letter, the Arab foreign ministers and the Palestinian official said the region is already “burdened” by the largest displaced and refugee populations in the world.
“We must be vigilant not to increase the risk to regional stability by further displacement, even if only temporary as it increases the risk of radicalization and unrest in the region as a whole,” they added.
They further stressed that any reconstruction in Gaza needs to take place with the involvement of its Palestinian residents.
“Palestinians do not want to leave their land. We support their position unequivocally,” they said, noting that the so-called two-state framework is the only viable path to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.
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