UNITED NATIONS, Feb 06 (APP): A United Nations spokesperson, commenting on US President Donald Trump’s plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza, said that “any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing”, and that the UN chief believes that any solutions for the war-shattered enclave should be rooted in international law and not make the problem worse.
The spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, was asked during the regular noon briefing at UN Headquarters in New York, whether UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres “believes” Trump’s plan is ethnic cleansing. He said: “Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
While the spokesperson avoided making a direct statement on Trump’s plan on Gaza, he announced that Guterres will speak at a meeting organized Wednesday afternoon by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP).
Responding to a question if Guterres fears Trump’s statements may “further encourage more destruction on Palestine territories” and “set a dangerous precedent,” Dujarric recalled the current situation around the world with ongoing crises.
“We (UN), as a matter of rule, as a matter of principle, support efforts to resolve conflicts through dialog, through negotiations that respect the rights and the dignity of all involved,” he said.
Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians in Gaza first came after a ceasefire agreement took effect in the enclave on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins.
The “US will take over the Gaza Strip,” he told a news conference Tuesday evening alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He repeated that the Gazan population should be moved to countries like Jordan and Egypt, with the US turning the land into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
“The Secretary-General will (at the CEIRPP meeting this afternoon) say that the search for solutions, we must not make the problem worse,” the UN spokesperson said. “It is vital that we stay true to the bedrock of international law. It is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing.”
Dujarric said it would be a “fair assumption” to view Guterres remarks as a response to Trump’s proposal. He said Guterres would also reaffirm the two-state solution. Earlier on Wednesday Guterres spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah.
The United Nations has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war with neighbouring Arab states.
APP/ift
