The UN on Wednesday refrained from directly commenting on US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “take over the Gaza Strip” and relocate Palestinians, but argued that forced displacement is “ethnic cleansing.”
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric was asked during a news conference whether UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres “believes” Trump’s plan is ethnic cleansing. He said: “Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
While Dujarric avoided making a direct statement on Trump’s plan on Gaza, he announced that Guterres will speak at a meeting organized Wednesday by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP).
Responding to Anadolu’s question if Guterres fears Trump’s statements may “further encourage more destruction on Palestine territories” and “set a dangerous precedent,” Dujarric recalled the current situation around the world with ongoing crises.
“We (UN), as a matter of rule, as a matter of principle, support efforts to resolve conflicts through dialog, through negotiations that respect the rights and the dignity of all involved,” he said.
Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians in Gaza first came after a ceasefire agreement took effect in the enclave on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins.
The “US will take over the Gaza Strip,” he told a news conference Tuesday evening alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He repeated that the Gazan population should be moved to countries like Jordan and Egypt, with the US turning the land into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Anadolu Agency.
