The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Qatar and Egypt on Sunday strongly condemned remarks made by Israeli officials regarding plans to force Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement, the ministers described the remarks and proposals as “incitement” and said they represented a flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, and a direct threat to the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday outlined a seven-year plan for removing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip through what Ben-Gvir described as "voluntary emigration."
The Saudi and Arab statement rejected any forced displacement of Palestinians, whether within or outside the occupied Palestinian territories, under any pretext or guise and warned against making it official policy.
The ministers said the measures directly challenged international peace efforts, including US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza conflict, which rejects forced displacement, and warned they could undermine regional stability.
The statement stressed that Gaza is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territories and called for preserving the territorial unity of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The ministers said the only path to a just and lasting peace was the implementation of a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with relevant international resolutions.
They called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to oppose any attempts to alter the demographic or geographic status of the occupied Palestinian territories and uphold international law. They reaffirmed support for “steadfast” Palestinians remaining on their land and rejected efforts to undermine their rights or erase the Palestinian cause.
