Syria’s Sharaa Calls Trump Gaza Plan ‘Serious Crime’ Bound to Fail 

A man and children walk past rubble in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 10, 2025 amid the current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man and children walk past rubble in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 10, 2025 amid the current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Syria’s Sharaa Calls Trump Gaza Plan ‘Serious Crime’ Bound to Fail 

A man and children walk past rubble in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 10, 2025 amid the current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man and children walk past rubble in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 10, 2025 amid the current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said in remarks broadcast on Monday he believes US President Donald Trump's plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza and take over the Strip "is a serious crime that will ultimately fail".

Trump had said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. He said Palestinians would not have the right of return to Gaza under his proposal.

In an interview with a UK podcast, Sharaa said Trump's proposal would not succeed.

"I believe no power can drive people from their land. Many countries have tried to do it and they have all failed, especially during the recent war in Gaza over the past year and a half," he said.

Sharaa stressed that it would be neither 'wise nor morally or politically right' for Trump to lead an effort to force Palestinians out of their land.

"Over 80 years of this conflict, all attempts to displace them have failed; those who left have regretted their decision. The Palestinian lesson that every generation has learned is the importance of holding on to their land," he added.

Egypt, Jordan and other Arab nations have strongly opposed any attempt to push Palestinians over the border.

Like Palestinians, they fear any mass movement across the border would further undermine prospects for a "two-state solution" - the idea of creating a state of Palestine next to Israel - and leave Arab nations dealing with the consequences.



Syria and Neighbors Urge Israel to Stop Bombings

Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)
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Syria and Neighbors Urge Israel to Stop Bombings

Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)

The foreign ministers of Syria, Türkiye and Jordan, meeting Monday in Ankara, called on Israel to cease attacks on Syria and to withdraw troops from the country.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December, often targeting military sites and killing dozens of people.

Israeli officials have also described Syria's new authorities as extremists and claimed to defend the country's Druze minority with a recent spate of attacks.

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a press conference with his Jordanian and Syrian counterparts that "Israel's expansionism poses a significant threat to the security, stability and future of Syria."

"This must come to an end. And we are on the same page about this. Syria needs to be supported to prevent terrorist organizations from settling in this region," Fidan added, noting that Syria shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Türkiye.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told the joint press conference that "our borders are constantly violated by Israeli attacks".

The Israeli strikes are "calculated escalations aimed at destabilizing Syria and dragging the region into a new cycle of conflict", Shaibani said, decrying "systematic violations of international law and explicit provocations".

He called on the international community to put Israel under "increased pressure" to halt the bombings.

Jordan's top diplomat, Ayman Safadi, said attacks on Syrian soil "will not bring security to Israel and will bring nothing to Syria except ruin and destruction".