Saudi Arabia condemns comments made by two Israeli ministers who called for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.
According to the ministry, the Kingdom “categorically rejects the extremist statements of two ministers of the Israeli occupation government who called for the displacement of the population of Gaza,” the Saudi Press Agency announced in a statement.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, along with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, this week called for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. Smotrich said it was essential to redistribute settlers in the enclave if the Jewish state wanted to exercise control there for “a long period.”
These statements were widely denounced, including by the United States government, a staunch ally of Israel.
Largely due to Israeli bombing, more than 22,000 people have lost their lives in Gaza since the war began in October, when Hamas operatives attacked settlements adjacent to the Strip, killing 1,200 Israelis.
“Irresponsible and provocative statements”
The European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has strongly condemned the “irresponsible and provocative statements” of Israeli ministers calling for the displacement of Gaza residents to other countries.
In a message shared on his X account on Wednesday, Josep Borrell recalled that the forced displacement of populations is strictly prohibited by international humanitarian law and constitutes a serious violation.
“I strongly condemn the irresponsible and provocative statements of Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, who spread slander about the Palestinian people of Gaza and called for a plan for their displacement. Forced displacement is strictly prohibited by international humanitarian law and constitutes a serious violation,” railed Josep Borrell.
The Israeli Minister of National Security (far right), Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, have announced that they support the voluntary displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
“The right solution for the Gaza Strip is to encourage voluntary migration to countries that accept refugees,” said far-right Finance Minister Smotrich.
Israeli media reported that Israeli agents were conducting secret negotiations with Congo and other countries that might take in the Gazans.
The two-state solution, “the only means of peaceful coexistence”
Germany has denounced the statements of two Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, regarding the exit of the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency on Wednesday, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer stressed that “such statements do not help to resolve the problem.”
“We strongly reject the statements of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich,” he said.
Sebastian Fischer explained that “Germany’s position on this issue was clarified at the meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Tokyo and that support for the forced displacement of Gaza and the reduction of the area of the Gaza Strip is out of the question “. be out of the question.
In this sense, he underlined that Germany continues to support the two-state solution, which “remains the only means of peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Calls to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have increased in Israel in recent weeks.
Israel’s ministers of national security and finance announced Monday their support for the “voluntary displacement of Palestinians” from the Gaza Strip.
Israel has waged a relentless offensive against the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
Since then, at least 22,313 Palestinians have been killed and another 57,296 injured, mostly children and women, according to Gaza health authorities.
2024-01-05 18:46:42
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