5 Arab Countries Warn US About the Risk of Forced Displacement of Palestinians From Gaza

5 Arab foreign ministers, together with a high-ranking Palestinian official, have conveyed their dissent regarding the proposed forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza in a joint letter addressed to the US Secretary of State, as reported by the Axios.

News ID: 85689

Date: 04 February 2025 - 09:44

TEHRAN (Defapress) - According to the Axios website, five Arab foreign ministers, along with a senior Palestinian official, sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressing their opposition to the plans for the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and emphasizing the need for Palestinian participation in the reconstruction process.

Based on this report, the letter is part of a coordinated effort by America's Arab allies to convince President Donald Trump to abandon repeated proposals to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt, Jordan, and other countries as part of the reconstruction process.

Trump's repeated statements about relocating Palestinians from Gaza have sparked significant concern among Arab countries, as they view this as a threat to the stability of Egypt and Jordan.

U.S. officials claim that Trump's remarks were made due to the extensive devastation in Gaza and the need for a major reconstruction effort.

Steve Witkof, the White House's special envoy for Middle East affairs, told Axios that this process could take 10 to 15 years and emphasized that Gaza is currently unsuitable for living.

Over the past week, Trump has publicly spoken about the idea of relocating Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan on three occasions. He also discussed this proposal with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday.

According to the report, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, and Jordan, along with Hussein al-Sheikh, an advisor to the Palestinian president, gathered in Cairo last week and decided to send this letter to Rubio.

According to two informed sources, the ambassadors of these five Arab countries delivered the letter to the U.S. State Department yesterday, Monday.

In the letter, the Arab foreign ministers emphasized that the Middle East is already facing the largest number of refugees and displaced persons in the world, and its economic and social conditions are highly fragile.

They wrote in the letter addressed to Rubio: "We must be vigilant not to increase the risk of regional instability by creating new displacements, even temporarily, as this would exacerbate extremism and insecurity across the entire region."

The letter also stressed the necessity of Palestinian participation in the Gaza reconstruction process, stating: "Palestinians must remain in their land and play a role in its reconstruction. They should not be deprived of their rights to manage reconstruction efforts; rather, this process should be carried out with the support of the international community and under their own management."

The Arab foreign ministers also warned about the danger of Palestinians being expelled by the occupying regime.

The letter stated, "Palestinians do not wish to leave their land, and we firmly support their position. Any action toward their forced displacement would add a new and dangerous dimension to this crisis."