US president has suggested Palestinians should leave Gaza for neighboring countries to ‘just clean out’ whole strip.
By Emma Graham-Harrison, The Guardian
Donald Trump’s proposal that large numbers of Palestinians should leave Gaza to “just clean out” the whole strip has been rejected by US allies in the region and attacked as dangerous, illegal and unworkable by lawyers and activists.
The US president said he would like hundreds of thousands of people to move to neighbouring countries, either “temporarily or could be long-term”. Destinations could include Jordan, which already hosts more than 2.7 million Palestinian refugees, and Egypt, he added.
“I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say: ‘You know, it’s over.’”
Gaza’s population before the war was 2.3 million. Jordan, and Egypt have both made clear they will not take refugees from Gaza. On Sunday, the Jordanian foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said his country’s rejection of any displacement of Palestinians was “firm and unwavering”.
Inside Gaza there is little sign that people who have endured over 15 months of fighting want to leave permanently in large numbers if a current ceasefire holds. Forced displacement of residents would be a war crime.
On Sunday thousands surged to Israeli military checkpoints, hoping to return to their homes in the north under the terms of a temporary ceasefire deal. Israel refused to let them pass, accusing Hamas of violating terms of the agreement.
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