Latest news with #PalestinianDisplacement
Irish Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Jordan and Egypt condemn Israeli plan to take over entire Gaza Strip
Jordan and Egypt , the two Arab countries that have made peace with Israel , have condemned prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu 's plan to take over the entire Gaza Strip , impose Israeli control, displace a million Palestinians and hand it over to Arab forces independent of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. A Jordanian official told Reuters Arab nations 'will only support what Palestinians agree and decide on. Security in Gaza must be done through legitimate Palestinian institutions.' The source said Arab states 'will not agree to Netanyahu's policies nor clean his mess'. Egypt warned that an Israeli takeover of all of Gaza could lead to the execution by Hamas of the 20 Israeli hostages who remain alive. According to Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, an Egyptian diplomat said Hamas and other factions 'have orders to 'neutralise' them if their captors come under siege and are unable to escape alive'. The report said senior Egyptian officials have demanded an urgent return to ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has called for direct talks on the crisis with US president Donald Trump. READ MORE He has said Israel's actions are 'up to Israel', granting Mr Netanyahu a green light to carry out his plan. Earlier this week, Mr Trump told reporters that any Israeli plan to reoccupy Gaza was 'pretty much up to Israel'. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas called the policy a 'flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and UN resolutions' and urged the United Nations Security Council, Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation to take immediate action against Israel. He thanked Mr Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah for their support. [ What is behind Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City? Opens in new window ] Hamas said Mr Netanyahu's 'plans to expand the aggression confirm beyond any doubt that he seeks to get rid of [Israeli] captives and sacrifice them'. Hamas warned that any administration formed to govern Gaza would be treated as 'an 'occupying' force linked to Israel'. It stated: 'Netanyahu's plan is to continue his policy of genocide and displacement by committing more crimes against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.' Hamas called for Arab, Muslim and international intervention. United Nations assistant secretary general Miroslav Jenča called Israel's plan 'deeply alarming' and warned the security council this 'would risk catastrophic consequences'. Gaza City, al-Mawasi on the coast and Khan Younis town have more than a million displaced Palestinians as well as permanent residents who would have no place to go if Israel attacked and occupied this area, which comprises the last 25 per cent of Gaza not fully occupied by Israel. [ 'A death sentence to all hostages': Israel plan to take control of Gaza City met with dismay Opens in new window ] Israel withdrew its settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, but legal experts have said it remained occupied as Israel continued to control Gaza by land, sea and air. Following the October 7th, 2023, attack on Israel in which Hamas killed 1,200 people and abducted 250, Israel launched a full-scale ground offensive and seized 75 per cent of Gaza, killing more than 60,000 people and displacing 1.9 million Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
National Post
21-07-2025
- Politics
- National Post
'Disconnected from reality': Israel rejects Gaza statement from Canada, 24 other nations
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and 24 of her counterparts abroad have signed a joint statement saying 'the war in Gaza must end now,' while calling on Israel to stop displacing Palestinians. Article content The signatories — who include the foreign ministers of France, Japan and the U.K. — called Israel's aid distribution system 'dangerous.' Article content Article content The ministers also condemned Hamas for continuing to hold hostages captured from Israel in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and called for their immediate release. Article content Article content They said it's 'horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.' That death toll is based on figures released by the UN human rights office and the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. Article content Article content Oren Marmorstein, spokesman for Israel's foreign affairs ministry, said Israel rejects the joint statement, calling it 'disconnected from reality' and saying it 'sends the wrong message to Hamas.' Article content 'The statement fails to focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognize Hamas's role and responsibility for the situation. Hamas is the sole party responsible for the continuation of the war and the suffering on both sides,' Marmorstein wrote in a social media statement. Article content 'At these sensitive moments in the ongoing negotiations, it is better to avoid statements of this kind.' Article content Marmorstein said that Hamas is solely to blame for the lack of movement on a ceasefire and on releasing the hostages. He accused Hamas of 'deliberately' increasing tensions and civilian harm at humanitarian aid stations. Article content Article content The ministers who signed the statement are calling on the Israeli government to lift all restrictions on aid delivery and to 'enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs' to do their work safely and effectively. Article content Article content 'The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food,' the ministers wrote. Article content The ministers decry proposals by Israeli officials to concentrate Palestinians in Gaza into one city. It also takes aim at the Israeli government's proposed expansion of settlements in the Palestinian territories it occupies, particularly as it seeks to divide the West Bank from East Jerusalem. Article content This would 'critically undermine the two-state solution,' the statement said, noting an increase in the building of settlements that Canada deems illegal, at a time when 'settler violence against Palestinians has soared.'
NDTV
08-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Timeline Of Trump's Remarks On Palestinian Displacement, Gaza Takeover
Washington: President Donald Trump proposed a US takeover of Gaza in remarks in early February while also suggesting a permanent displacement of Palestinians from the enclave. The plan was condemned globally, with Palestinians, Arab nations, the UN and rights experts saying it was tantamount to "ethnic cleansing." Following is a timeline showing how Trump's comments have evolved since he first proposed displacing Palestinians on January 25: January 25: First suggestion of Palestinian Displacement Five days after becoming president, Trump said Jordan and Egypt should take in Palestinians from Gaza while suggesting openness to this being a long-term plan. "I'd like Egypt to take people, and I'd like Jordan to take people (from Gaza)," Trump said, adding he spoke that day with Jordan's King Abdullah. "It's literally a demolition site ... so I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they (Palestinians) can maybe live in peace for a change," Trump said, adding: "We just clean out that whole thing." Three reiterations in following week Trump reiterated this plan on January 27, 30 and 31, and added that he expected Egypt and Jordan to agree to it, even as they rejected the proposal. "I think he (Egypt's president) would do it, and I think the king of Jordan would do it, too," Trump said on January 27. February 4 Afternoon: Suggestion of permanent displacement Before his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on February 4, Trump suggested permanently displacing Palestinians from Gaza, saying people there had no alternative but to leave the enclave devastated by US ally Israel's military assault that has caused a dire humanitarian situation and killed tens of thousands. "I think they (Gazans) should get a good, fresh, beautiful piece of land, and we get some people to put up the money to build it," Trump told reporters. "I don't know how they could want to stay (in Gaza)," he said. Forced displacement is illegal under international law. February 4 Evening: US Takeover proposal In a press conference with Netanyahu, Trump proposed a US takeover of Gaza, saying: "The US will take over the Gaza Strip. ... We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site." He said Washington will ask neighboring countries with "humanitarian hearts" and "great wealth" to take in Palestinians. He said those countries will pay for rebuilding Gaza and housing displaced Palestinians. When asked if US troops will be sent, Trump said: "If it's necessary, we'll do that." When asked who will live in Gaza, Trump said: "I envision world people living there, ... Palestinians also." February 5: Trump aides walk back some of his statements While defending Trump's proposal, his top aides walked back some of his words about permanently displacing Palestinians and using the US military. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Palestinians should be "temporarily relocated" while Gaza is rebuilt and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Palestinians will leave Gaza for an "interim" period. Leavitt said Trump had not committed to putting "boots on the ground." February 6: Trump says no US soldiers needed in Gaza Trump posted on social media: "The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting. The Palestinians ... would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region." He added: "No soldiers by the US would be needed!" February 10: Trump says palestinians have no right of return In a Fox News interview with anchor Bret Baier, Trump was asked if Palestinians will have a right of return under his plan. He replied: "No, they wouldn't because they're going to have much better housing." He added: "I'm talking about building a permanent place for them." February 11: Trump meets Jordan's king "We will have Gaza. No reason to buy. There is nothing to buy. It's Gaza. It's a war-torn area. We're going to take it. We're going to hold it. We're going to cherish it," Trump said on the day he met Jordan's king in Washington. The king reiterated his opposition. On the same day, Trump was asked if he was going to withhold aid to Egypt and Jordan, which both rely on Washington for economic and military assistance. He said: "You know, I think we'll do something. I don't have to threaten with money ... I do believe we're above that." April 7: Trump second US meeting with Netanyahu "I think it's an incredible piece of important real estate," Trump said about Gaza when he met Netanyahu again at the White House, more than two months after his initial Gaza takeover proposal. "And I think it's something that we would be involved in, but you know having a peace force like the United States there, controlling and owning the Gaza Strip, would be a good thing." He said: "And if you take the people, the Palestinians, and move them around to different countries, and you have plenty of countries that will do that." Trump added: "A lot of people like my concept. But you know, there are other concepts that I like too and there are some concepts I don't like." Arab leaders in March adopted a $53 billion Egyptian reconstruction plan that would avoid displacing Palestinians from Gaza. Trump and Israel rejected it at the time. July 7: Trump's third US meeting with Israeli PM When asked about displacing Palestinians, Trump initially demurred to Netanyahu and said the countries around Israel were helping out. "We've had great cooperation from ... surrounding countries. ... So something good will happen," Trump said. Netanyahu himself said Israel was working with Washington to find other countries to agree to such a plan. "If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave," Netanyahu said. "We're working with the United States very closely about finding countries that will seek to realize what they always say, that they wanted to give the Palestinians a better future. I think we're getting close to finding several countries." Washington has for decades backed a two-state solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians to create a state for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel. Trump said, "I don't know" when he was asked if that solution was possible and referred the question to Netanyahu. Netanyahu said: "I think the Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers to threaten us. That means a sovereign power, like overall security, will always remain in our hands."
Malay Mail
03-06-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
Israeli forces block media entry to Palestinian village featured in Oscar-winning film, all while violence by illegal settlers gets worse
TUWANI (Palestine), June 3 — Israeli forces yesterday blocked an international media tour in the occupied West Bank, preventing journalists from entering the village of Oscar-winning Palestinian director Basel Adra who decried worsening Israeli violence. Adra's film 'No Other Land' chronicles the forced displacement of Palestinians by Israeli troops and settlers in Masafer Yatta, an area in the southern West Bank that Israel declared a restricted military zone in the 1980s. Journalists from AFP and other international media travelled to Tuwani at the invitation of Adra, who lives in the village, and co-director Yuval Abraham, seeking to draw attention to a spate of house demolitions and violent incidents in recent weeks. At the entrance to Tuwani, the journalists as well as a Palestinian Authority delegation were blocked by Israeli forces, who said they had a warrant to set up a one-day checkpoint. Abraham called the roadblock a 'good example' of what he said was Israeli authorities' involvement in attacks against Palestinians in Masafer Yatta. Adra said the violence was 'getting worse and worse'. 'Settler violence increased, the demolitions carried out by Israeli soldiers and authorities against our homes and schools and properties is increasing in very crazy and high numbers,' he told AFP. An Israeli officer who refused to give his name told AFP the force was at the entrance to Tuwani to 'keep the public order'. 'There were violent clashes between settlers, Jews, Arabs, journalists, and to prevent these violent clashes, we decided not to allow passage today,' the officer said. Adra said that last week, settlers had entered the nearby Palestinian hamlet of Khallet al-Dabaa, which was bulldozed by the Israeli army in early May, with the Israelis harassing the residents who remained despite the destruction. To Abraham, blocking the media tour was a 'good example of the relationship between settler violence and the state'. 'These police officers and soldiers that are here now to prevent the international media, not only do they not come to prevent the settler violence, often they partake in it,' the Israeli co-director told AFP. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has soared throughout the Gaza war, which broke out in October 2023. The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians, but also some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law. Since the start of 2025, attacks by Israeli settlers have left at least 220 Palestinians injured, the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA has said. According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 937 Palestinians in the West Bank since the Gaza war began. Attacks by Palestinians and clashes during military raids in the West Bank over the same period have killed 35 Israelis, including soldiers, according to official figures. Abraham said he had been trying to hold on to hope that the film's success would bring change on the ground. 'Unfortunately, the world now knows, but there is no action,' he said. — AFP
