Palestine, UK, China, Others Reject Trump’s Bid To ‘Take Over’ Gaza

Palestinians have rejected a proposal by U.S. President, Donald Trump, to take over the war-torn Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its residents.

Trump, during a news conference with Israeli President, Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, hinted that it would be a “long-term ownership position” as Gaza will become the “Riviera of the Middle East”

He said, “The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.

“We will Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings and create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.

“(Palestinians) Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to be the same way it has for 100 years,” Trump stated.

Responding, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas criticized Trump’s proposed action and called on the United Nations (UN) to “protect the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights,” saying what Trump wants to do would be “a serious violation of international law.”

Rewaa Mohsen, a nurse in the city of Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, said, “I don’t give a damn about what he is saying… he will not force us to go or leave,” she told BBC.

“The Israeli army killed us but we remain in our destroyed houses. We don’t need life outside our land and we will not move one metre away from it so he can say whatever he wants – he can’t beat us,” Mohsen said.

Another resident, Jamalat Wadi speaking to the BBC said, “I am waiting to rebuild our house and live in it, and neither Trump nor anybody else matters to us.

“If there is only one drop of blood left in our children, we won’t go out of Gaza, and we won’t give up on it,” she said, adding that “We will live on our rubble as if nothing happened, and Gaza will be rebuilt,” Wadi said.

UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it would support a two-state leadership in Gaza and not a resettlement.

“We’ve always been clear in our belief that we must see two states. We must see Palestinians live and prosper in their homelands in Gaza and the West Bank”, Lammy said.

French Foreign Ministry said displacing Palestinians in Gaza ″would constitute a grave violation of international law, an attack on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, a major threat to the two-state solution and a factor of major destabilization for our close partners Egypt and Jordan as well as the entire region.″

According to the ministry, France will support a two-state solution under the Palestinian Authority, stating that ″Hamas should be disarmed and have no part in the governance of this territory.″

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan Described Trump’s comments as “unacceptable,” stating that the past displacement of Palestinians and the settlement of Israelis in those areas was the root cause of the conflict.

“The issue of deportations from Gaza is not something that either the region or we would accept. Even thinking about it, in my opinion, is wrong and absurd,” he said.

Fidan also called for a two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a sovereign Palestinian state.

On their part, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian said, said the country opposes the forced relocation of people in Gaza, reiterating Beijing’s support of a two-state solution in resolving the conflict.

“China has always believed that Palestinian rule is the basic principle of post-war governance in Gaza,” said spokesperson Jian said.

Also responding, the Palestinian Jihad group Hamas, in a statement, denounced Trump’s proposal as “racist,” vowing to fight the U.S. president’s plans in Gaza.

“Our Palestinian people always have the resistance option, which they have practised for more than a century,” it said.

The group said Trump will only “pour fuel on the fire” in the Middle East, condemning his proposed action “in the strongest terms”.

“Such remarks are hostile to our people and our cause, and will not benefit stability in the region,” the group says.

“We call on the American administration and President Trump to walk back from these irresponsible remarks that contradict international law and the basic rights of our Palestinian people on their land,” they added.

The group also called on the Arab League and UN to hold urgent meetings to address the “dangerous remarks” and take a “strong stance” that preserves Palestinian rights.

The ceasefire deal resumed on January 19, but 15 months of fighting have devastated the coastal Palestinian territory, displacing about 90% of its residents and causing extensive infrastructural damage.

The death toll is above 46,000, as reported by the Hamas-run health ministry. Aside from this, the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) has warned it will take 21 years just to clear the debris and explosive remnants of war

“The significant and growing environmental damage in Gaza risks locking its people into a painful, long recovery,” UNEP executive director Inger Andersen said.

Palestine, UK, China, Others Reject Trump’s Bid To ‘Take Over’ Gaza is first published on The Whistler Newspaper