FILE - Palestinain President Mahmoud Abbas
CAIRO – 5 February 2025: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has expressed the Palestinian Authority’s strong rejection of calls to take over the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians from their homeland.
His statement comes in the wake of shocking remarks by US President Donald Trump that his country “will take over” the Gaza Strip and develop it, while moving Palestinians elsewhere.
In response to US calls for displacing the Palestinian people, Abbas stated, “we will not allow any infringement on the rights of our people, for which we have struggled for decades and made immense sacrifices to achieve.”
Abbas stressed that such calls represent a serious violation of international law, emphasizing that peace and stability in the region cannot be achieved without the establishment of the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, based on the 1967 borders and the two-state solution.
“The Palestinian people will not renounce their land, rights, or sacred sites,” Abbas affirmed, stating that Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine, alongside the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which have been occupied since 1967.
NON-NEGOTIABLE RIGHTS
He affirmed that the legitimate Palestinian rights are “non-negotiable,” and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and is responsible for taking independent Palestinian decisions.
“No one has the right to make decisions regarding the future of the Palestinian people on their behalf,” Abbas remarked.
He reiterated his appreciation for the steadfast and principled Arab positions against displacement and annexation.
He called on the United Nations secretary-general and the UN Security Council to fulfill their responsibilities and take urgent action to protect the unanimously agreed-upon decisions of international legitimacy, safeguard the Palestinian people, and uphold their inalienable rights.
He stressed the necessity to safeguard the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and to remain on their land, calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine.
TAKING OVER GAZA
At a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump said “the US will take over the Gaza Strip … and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”
"The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too." –President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/aCqLl9Gwwn
— President Donald J. Trump (@POTUS) February 5, 2025
“We're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it'll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of,” Trump stated. "I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East."
Trump said the US will turn Gaza into a development project that could be “the Riviera of the Middle East,” with “the world’s people living there.”
Netanyahu commended Trump for “thinking outside the box” with such proposal.
Trump’s plan, if implemented, seems to bring the curtain down on hopes for the implementation of a long-awaited and globally advocated two-state solution with Israelis and Palestinians living peacefully in two separate states.
Regarding the occupied West Bank, Trump said he has not taken a position on it yet but noted that an announcement will be made soon.
Israel occupied Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war. Palestinians want all three territories for their future state, a demand that most of the international community has supported.
Trump’s statement comes amid a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, which took effect on 19 January after over 15 months of Israeli war that has killed over 47,000 people and forced most of the population to leave their homes.
https://t.co/D0EKnZNVW6
— Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) February 4, 2025
The ongoing conflict in Gaza has led to a massive displacement of Palestinians, with over half a million people forced to flee their homes in recent weeks. The United Nations and its partners are working tirelessly to provide humanitarian assistance to…
The agreement has so far saw Hamas’ release of 18 captives out of dozens more still held in Gaza, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
GLOBAL CONDEMNATION
Trump’s remarks have been rebuked by democratic lawmakers and also some republicans.
Representative from California Eric Swalwell said: “Wait what? The U.S. is going to occupy Gaza? We were promised no more endless wars."
Wait what? The U.S. is going to occupy Gaza? We were promised no more endless wars. By my count we are occupying Greenland, Canada, Panama Canal, and now..Gaza? https://t.co/9FKDWPEgvy
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) February 5, 2025
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its categorical rejection of any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, annexation of Palestinian lands, or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land.
Saudi Arabia, in a foreign ministry statement, called for the international community to work to alleviate the harsh humanitarian suffering that the Palestinian people are suffering from.
Riyadh stressed that the Palestinians “will remain committed to their land and will not budge from it.”
Saudi Arabia emphasized that it will not start diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is established with East Jerusalem as its capital.
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