Latest news with #PalestinianNationalInitiative
France 24
08-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Netanyahu behind Trump's 'ethnic cleansing' plan for Gaza: PNI leader Barghouti
11:56 In an interview with FRANCE 24, Palestinian National Initiative President Mustafa Barghouti sharply criticizes Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government, describing them as fascist and accusing them of attempting to resolve the issue of occupation by deepening it—actions he argues are in clear violation of international law. According to Barghouti, Israel is subjecting Palestinians to conditions akin to a concentration camp, forcing them to live under extreme hardship with the intent of driving them to leave. He accuses Israel of committing three grave war crimes simultaneously: genocide, collective punishment through starvation, and the ethnic cleansing of Gaza's population. Barghouti also called US President Trump's recent comments on Gaza "unrealistic", suggesting they reflect Netanyahu's long-standing strategy of ethnic cleansing. "The fact that President Trump advocated ethnic cleansing as a solution gave legitimacy to Netanyahu", he said, adding that Netanyahu was behind Trump's plan. For Barghouti, the struggle is ultimately about Palestinian self-determination and resisting a return to a colonial system of control.
Memri
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Memri
Kremlin Calls On Palestinian Factions To Unify
January 19, 2025, marked the beginning of the first phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The future of the area looks precarious, especially amid statements by U.S. President Donald Trump, concerning a possible relocation of its residents. In turn, Moscow supports the creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The existence of various Palestinian factions comes as an obvious obstacle to this goal. In February of 2025, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov held several meetings with Palestinian forces, discussing a ceasefire and prompting an "inter-Palestinian reconciliation." In February 2025, Russia's Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and African Countries and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov held several meetings with the representatives of various Palestinian forces. On February 3, Mikhail Bogdanov met with Musa Abu Marzouk, who is deputy chairman of the Hamas Politburo. [1] The next day he met with Mustafa Barghouti, who is Chairman of the Palestinian National Initiative movement, [2] and Ahmed Majdalani, who is Secretary General of the Palestinian People's Struggle Front and a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). [3] Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. (Source: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Telegram channel). [4] The common themes of the deputy minister's meetings were the realization of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and the "prompt achievement of inter-Palestinian unity." Moscow continues to emphasize its principled position of support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital as East Jerusalem. It seems that the Kremlin believes that inter-Palestinian reconciliation on the political platform of the PLO is a necessary step toward this goal. [5] Thus, during the meeting with the chairman of Palestinian National Initiative, the Russian side "reaffirmed its readiness to continue to assist in bridging the inter-Palestinian disagreements on the political platform of the PLO." During the meeting with Marzouk, the Russian Foreign ministry also urged Hamas to work "toward a prompt achievement of inter-Palestinian unity on the political platform of the PLO." [6] The Kremlin observes developments in the Middle East with concern. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, giving a speech at the at the XIV Middle East Conference of the "Valdai" International Discussion Club, expressed concern with growing U.S. influence in the region, and blamed the American administration for derailing the peace process in Gaza. "It's good that a truce was finally reached after more than a year of attempts in the Security Council to call for one. The Americans blocked everything, using their veto six times. Then they threw in their resolution, which was presented as one that solves all problems," argued the minister. According to Lavrov, though the new Trump administration was engaged in the negotiation process somewhat more actively, it was Egypt and Qatar that played a key role in reaching it. The foreign minister however argued that with the arrival of the new administration to the White House, the Syrian Golan Heights "can also be considered 'lost land' from the point of view of restoring justice..." In his speech, Sergei Lavrov warned against reckless steps in the region and called for inter-Palestinian unity. "The Middle East is not a playground... The key [to the solution] of all the numerous problems lies in the creation of a Palestinian state... The creation of a Palestinian state would lead to the normalization of Israel's relations with the entire Islamic world," stressed the Russian Foreign Minister. [7] [1] Russian Foreign Ministry website, 02/03. [2] Russian Foreign Ministry website, 02/04. [3] Russian Foreign Ministry website, 02/04. [4] Russian Foreign Ministry Telegram channel, 02/03. [5] TASS media "Russia Will Continue to Help Achieve Inter-Palestinian Unity", 11/29/2024; "Interfax" media, 07/24/2024. [6] Russian Foreign Ministry website, 02/03. [7] Speech by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov at the XIV Middle East Conference, Moscow, February 4, 2025. Foreign Ministry website.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's comments raise fears of new Nakba, Palestinian activist says
US President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle the population of the Gaza Strip has sparked concerns of a new Palestinian Nakba, a prominent Palestinian activist said on Wednesday. The term Nakba refers to the flight and expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians during the first Middle East war in 1948 amid the founding of the state of Israel. Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative party, called Trump's plan a "conspiracy of ethnic cleansing." The Palestinian National Initiative advocates non-violent resistance to the Israeli occupation. Barghouti has also called for a government of national unity that includes the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas. Following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the United States "will take over the Gaza Strip" and that the approximately 2 million Palestinians living in the territory should be relocated to other countries.
NBC News
05-02-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump fuels fury and fear in Middle East after vowing to 'take over' Gaza Strip
President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority governs the occupied West Bank and is a longtime opponent of Hamas, also rejected the comments. And Mustafa Barghouti, the leader of the Palestinian National Initiative political party, said in a statement to NBC News that the 'conspiracy of ethnic cleansing will not succeed in Gaza or the West Bank.' Around 60% of Gaza's infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, has been destroyed during Israel's offensive on the enclave, according to estimates published by the United Nations. Netanyahu ordered his forces into Gaza after the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict. More than 47,500 Palestinians have been since then, according to health officials in the enclave, though researchers have estimated that the death toll is likely much higher. In Israel meanwhile, Trump's comments were met with mixed reactions. Right-wing lawmakers were quick to embrace the proposals while other prominent Israelis condemned it. Ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said that the Gaza transfer plan was the best response to the Hamas attack on Israel. 'Those who committed the worst massacre on our land will lose their land forever,' he said, adding, 'With God's help we will now act to finally bury the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state.' Amichai Chikli, Israel's minister of diaspora affairs called Trump's comments a 'geopolitical earthquake' and said that Netanyahu could secure a 'major political achievement' if acted on them. Itamar Ben-Gvir, who resigned from his post as Israeli national security minister last month in protest at the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas called Trump's comments 'significant' before calling on Netanyahu to adopt Trump's plan 'and to begin promoting it immediately.' Elsewhere, Gershon Baskin, an Israeli peace activist and veteran hostage negotiator condemned Trump's proposal. 'The Great United States of America has no right to relocate Palestinians' or to 'make decisions for the Palestinian people,' he said.
