Call follows Trump's plan to take over Gaza, resettle Palestinians
Palestinian group Hamas called Thursday for holding an emergency Arab summit to reject Palestinian resettlement from the Gaza Strip.
In a statement on, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem condemned US President Donald Trump's plan to take over Gaza and relocate Palestinians elsewhere.
“Trump's comments are completely unacceptable. Gaza belongs to its people, and they will not leave,” Qassem said, calling the US president's proposal to take over Gaza “a declared intention to occupy the strip.”
“We do not need any country to run Gaza, nor will we accept replacing one occupation with another,” he said, accusing Israel and the US of coordinating their roles.
The Hamas spokesman emphasized the need for Palestinian unity to resist any plans for displacement and called on Arab states to resist Trump's pressure to relocate Palestinians.
On Tuesday, the US president told a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US will “take over” Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere under an extraordinary redevelopment plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
His proposal was met with wide condemnations from the Palestinians, Arab countries and many other nations across the world, including Canada, France, Germany and the UK.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that Palestinians in Gaza should be taken in by regional Arab nations such as Egypt and Jordan, an idea rejected by both the Arab states and Palestinian leaders.
His proposal to relocate Palestinians came after a ceasefire agreement took effect in the enclave on Jan. 19, suspending Israel's genocidal war, which killed over 47,500, injured over 111,000 people and left the enclave in ruins.
