8 Muslim nations condemn Israeli Gaza displacement plans

ISLAMABAD, Sept 6: Eight Islamic and Arab countries on Sunday condemned plans voiced by Israeli government ministers for the removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, saying the designs jeopardise a US-backed peace in the territory.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday Israel had plans to remove Palestinians from Gaza but was waiting for US approval on where to displace the territory's population.

A day later, Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the plan aimed to remove 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in the first year, followed by the rest of the roughly two million residents over the following six years.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Indonesia and Turkey said they condemned in "the strongest terms" the "plans and mechanisms they proposed aimed at forcibly expelling Palestinians from their land".

The ministers warned of "grave consequences of transforming calls for forced displacement into declared policy or practical measures".

"Such measures directly challenge international efforts to achieve peace, particularly President Donald Trump's comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza, which includes a firm rejection of forced displacement," they added referring to a US-backed, October 2025 peace plan for Gaza.

On Saturday the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a staunch supporter of Israel and Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, denied there was an Israeli plan to force Palestinians out of Gaza.

The ministers reaffirmed their unequivocal rejection and condemnation of any attempts or plans aimed at displacing the Palestinian people, whether within or outside the occupied Palestinian territory, under any pretext or justification.

They warned against the “grave consequences of turning calls for forced displacement into declared policy or concrete measures aimed at uprooting Palestinians from their land”.

“Such actions constitute a challenge to international efforts aimed at achieving peace, foremost among them President Donald Trump’s comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, including its unequivocal rejection of forced displacement, and gravely risk undermining prospects for stability in the region,” their statement read.

The foreign ministers stressed that the Gaza Strip was an integral part of the Palestinian territory and underscored the imperative of preserving the unity of the Palestinian territory in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

They reaffirmed that the “only path towards achieving a just and lasting peace lies in the implementation of the two-State solution with the establishment of an independent Palestinian State along the lines of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy”.�"AGENCIES