US Says Will Not Permit Displacement of Palestinians

The war on the Gaza Strip was heavily discussed on the sidelines of the Dubai Climate Conference (COP28), amid remarkable US statements that outline the vision for Gaza in the post-conflict between Israel and Hamas.

US Vice President Kamala Harris said that many Palestinians are being killed in Gaza, urging Israel to do more to protect them.

In a press conference on the sidelines of COP28, Harris said Israel has a legitimate right to conduct military operations against Hamas militants, who launched attacks from Gaza on Oct. 7 in which more than 1,200 people in southern Israel were killed.

"As Israel defends itself, it matters how. The United States is unequivocal: International humanitarian law must be respected. Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed," Harris said, according to Reuters.

Harris held talks with some regional leaders while attending the climate summit in Dubai after being asked by US President Joe Biden to take his seat at the table as he focuses on the Israel-Hamas war.

In another message directed at Israel, Harris said the United States would not permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besieging of Gaza, or the redrawing of Gaza's borders.

"The international community must dedicate significant resources to support short- and long-term recovery in Gaza, for example, rebuilding hospitals and housing, restoring electricity and clean water, and ensuring that bakeries can reopen and be restocked," she said.

The VP said the Palestinian Authority (PA) should be bolstered to the point that it can govern both the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas can no longer run Gaza.

"There must be security arrangements that are acceptable to Israel, the people of Gaza, the Authority, and the international partners," she said, adding that the PA security forces must be strengthened to assume security responsibilities in Gaza.

"We want to see a unified Gaza and West Bank under the Authority, and Palestinian voices and aspirations must be at the center of this work," she indicated.

Once the war ends, efforts to rebuild should be pursued with a view toward the goal of a two-state solution in which Israel and the Palestinians live in peace, Harris said.

The recent developments in Gaza shaped the discussions of President Abdulfattah el-Sisi on the sidelines of the COP28 summit.

Sisi met with Harris in Dubai, and the two agreed on the gravity of the current situation while stressing the urgent need to prevent an expansion of the cycle of the conflict and protect the civilians.

Egypt and the US categorically rejected the coerced displacement of the Palestinians.

Sisi underscored the aggravating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which necessitates immediate action by the international community to provide urgent humanitarian relief to the people in the Strip to alleviate their suffering.

The President reiterated the crucial need to restore calm and ceasefire, emphasizing Egypt's rejection of exposing innocent people to the policies of collective punishment in violation of international commitments under international humanitarian law.

He reaffirmed Egypt's unequivocal and firm position about the settlement of the Palestinian issue through a just and comprehensive solution, safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of their independent Palestinian State, following the references of international legitimacy.

Earlier, the White House issued a statement announcing Harris's meeting with Sisi, noting that the VP discussed US ideas for post-conflict planning in Gaza, including reconstruction, security, and governance efforts.

She emphasized that these efforts can only succeed if they are pursued in the context of a clear political horizon for the Palestinian people towards a state of their own led by a revitalized Authority and have significant support from the international community and the regional countries.

The VP reiterated that under no circumstances will the US permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besiegement of Gaza, or the redrawing of the borders of Gaza.

Also in Dubai, Harris met the Jordanian King, Abdullah II, who warned against prolonging the war on Gaza, noting that it would further increase violence.

The King affirmed the necessity for the US to play a leadership role in advancing a political solution for the Palestinian Cause and achieve peace based on a two-state solution.

The monarch also cautioned against any attempt to separate the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, considering both an integral part of a unified Palestinian state.

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.

US Says Will Not Permit Displacement of Palestinians