US President Donald Trump's idea to resettle surviving Palestinians from their homelands in the Gaza Strip to other Arab countries was met with sharp condemnation from much of the region, DPA notes, quoted by BTA.
Trump had told the media that Egypt and Jordan should accept the residents of Gaza as part of a solution that "could be temporary" or "could be long-term".
The proposal has raised concerns among Palestinians that it could lead to ethnic cleansing of Gaza's population of about 2 million, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that any such steps would constitute "a gross violation of red lines".
"Our people will remain steadfast and will not leave their homeland," the presidential office in Ramallah, West Bank, said in a statement.
Gaza's ruling Islamist movement "Hamas" also rejected the plans and said Trump should stop making proposals that contradict the rights of the Palestinian people.
Egypt and Jordan joined in condemning Trump's proposal. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi said his country was firmly opposed to the forced displacement of Palestinians. "Our rejection of displacement is firm and will not change," he stressed.
Egypt also stressed that it was opposed to violating Palestinian rights by displacing or encouraging the displacement of Palestinians from their lands, whether temporarily or in the long term. The statement from the foreign ministry in Cairo rejected any settlement and annexation of Palestinian land, as well as the displacement of its population.
Last night, Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the terms of the ceasefire, a day after the Islamist movement exchanged four Israeli female soldiers for about 200 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Agence France-Presse reported.