Arab Ministers Condemn Trump’s Gaza Displacement Plan in Letter to US Secretary of State
A group of five Arab foreign ministers and a senior Palestinian official have sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressing strong opposition to President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Palestinians from Gaza be displaced to neighboring countries. The letter, sent on Monday, was signed by the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Palestinian presidential adviser Hussein al-Sheikh.
According to a report by Axios, the Arab diplomats met over the weekend in Cairo before jointly conveying their concerns. Trump first floated the idea of Jordan and Egypt taking in Palestinians on January 25, leaving open whether such a move would be temporary or permanent. Critics have denounced Trump’s stance as tantamount to ethnic cleansing, and governments across the region swiftly voiced their objections.
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“Reconstruction in Gaza should be through direct engagement with and participation of the people of Gaza,” the letter stated. “Palestinians will live in their land and help rebuild it, and they should not be stripped of their agency during reconstruction as they must take ownership of the process with the support of the international community.”
Israel’s recent military campaign in Gaza, sparked by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, has claimed the lives of over 47,000 Palestinians according to Gaza’s health ministry, prompting accusations of genocide and war crimes—allegations Israel denies. The conflict, though momentarily paused by a fragile ceasefire, remains a flashpoint in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian dispute. In the October 7 attack, Hamas reportedly killed 1,200 Israelis and took around 250 hostages, according to Israeli sources.
