The spokesman for the radical Palestinian movement “Hamas“ Hazem Qassem welcomed US President Donald Trump's apparent retreat from his proposal for the permanent withdrawal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The statement from “Hamas“ came after Trump said in a White House meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin that “nobody wants to displace anyone from Palestinian territory“.
“If President Trump's words represent a retreat from the idea of displacing people from the Gaza Strip, that is welcome”, Hazem Qassem said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
“We call for this position to be reinforced by committing the Israeli occupation to implement all the terms of the ceasefire agreement”, Qassem said.
Last month, Trump proposed that the United States take control of the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli military offensive over the past 17 months has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. Trump had previously proposed that Palestinians be permanently dislodged from the strip.
“Hamas“ attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a devastating war in Gaza that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.
In their attack, “Hamas“ fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli data, Reuters recalls.
The foreign ministers of the Arab countries said last night that they would continue consultations with US President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, on Egypt's plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, which is an alternative to Trump's proposals for the US to take control of the Palestinian enclave, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The consultations and discussion of the plan will continue as a “basis for reconstruction efforts“ in Gaza, said a joint statement after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Doha.
Earlier this month, Arab leaders adopted a $53 billion The $1.2 billion Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gaza aims to avoid evicting Palestinians from the enclave, in contrast to Trump's vision of turning Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
Trump's plan has fueled long-standing Palestinian fears of being permanently uprooted from their homes and has drawn widespread international backlash.
Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states are concerned that any such plan would destabilize the entire region.
The Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gaza calls for the creation of an administrative committee of independent Palestinian professionals and technocrats to run Gaza.
The plan is laid out in a 112-page document that includes maps of reconstruction activities and dozens of AI-generated color images of new housing developments, gardens and public buildings.
The massive reconstruction would have to be financed by oil-rich Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
The White House has previously said that the plan, which recently received support from France, Germany, Italy and Britain, does not reflect the reality in Gaza.