Palestinians have strongly condemned US President Donald Trump’s proposal to evict them from the Gaza Strip and send them to Egypt and Jordan – a proposal that has sparked fears of ethnic cleansing.
Trump told reporters on Saturday that the time had come to “clean up” the besieged Gaza Strip, and urged the leaders of Jordan and Egypt to move Palestinians out of Gaza either temporarily or permanently.
The proposal was roundly rejected by Palestinians on Sunday, with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) saying it would violate its “red lines”, while Gaza residents insisted That they will stay in the coastal area.
“It’s impossible for people to accept it,” Palestinian citizen Nafiz Halawa told Al Jazeera from Nasirat in central Gaza. “Weak people can leave because of the suffering they have endured, but the idea of leaving our own country … is absolutely impossible.”
Ilham al-Shabli also rejected this idea. “If we wanted to leave, we would have done it a long time ago. The genocidal war they are waging will not achieve anything against the Palestinians and we will stay no matter what.”
The PA said in a statement that the plan was “a flagrant violation of the red lines we have consistently warned against”.
“We stress that the Palestinian people will never leave their land or their holy sites, and we will not allow a repeat of the destruction (Nakba) of 1948 and 1967. Our people will stand firm and defend their homeland. Will not leave.” .
He urged Trump to uphold the Gaza ceasefire agreement, ensure the full withdrawal of Israeli forces, establish the PA as the governing body in the enclave, and advance efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state.
Hamas, the Palestinian group that rules Gaza, said the US administration should abandon proposals that are consistent with Israeli “schemes” and conflict with the rights of the Palestinian people, who have already committed “the most heinous acts of genocide” and Resisting Homelessness Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which has been fighting alongside Hamas in Gaza for 15 months, called Trump’s comments an incitement to “war crimes”.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the country’s rejection of displacement was “fixed and irreversible” and Oman looked forward to working with the Trump administration to advance efforts to recognize an independent Palestinian state. will remain
Trump’s comments also appeared to resonate with senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who said in an interview with US outlet CNN that he does not see the idea as “overly pragmatic” and believes that Arab countries in the region Will reject it.
Israel halts return to northern Gaza.
Trump’s comments came a week after a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza took effect, completing two rounds of prisoner-for-prisoner swaps.
But thousands of Palestinians were waiting at roadblocks to return to their homes in northern Gaza on Sunday after Israel refused to open crossing points after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement.
Israel said it would open the crossing points after the release of Asir Erbil Yehud, an Israeli citizen held by the PIJ in Gaza. It said that under the ceasefire agreement, civilian prisoners were to be released before soldiers.
PIJ told Al Jazeera on Sunday that the Jews would be released before Saturday in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners.
PIJ Deputy Secretary General Mohammad Al-Handi also said his group was “waiting for a practical answer” from mediators on how Palestinians would be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from a crossing point on Gaza’s al-Rashid Street, said there were “no tents” to shelter displaced people.
There is no place for them here. There are no tents. “Most of the people are staying here because they took down their tents, as they believed that after the release of the four Israeli prisoners, they would be able to move to the northern part of the Strip, as agreed,” he said. said
“But it looks like they’ll have to sleep here again tonight.”
