Saudi Arabia rejects plans for Nakba in Gaza Strip
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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia categorically rejects any plot to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to anywhere outside the Strip.
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Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, attends a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 9, 2023. (AP)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement rejecting the Israeli plot for a second Nakba in the Gaza Strip. In the official statement, the MFA expressed its "condemnation and categorical rejection of the extremist remarks by two ministers in the Israeli occupation government," referring to Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The two Israeli occupation ministers had "called for the displacement of the population of Gaza, the reoccupation of the Strip, and the construction of settlements," all of which were rejected by the Kingdom.
Alternatively, Saudi Arabia emphasized the "importance of the concerted efforts of the international community to activate international accounting mechanisms geared toward the persistence of the Israeli occupation government, through its statements and actions, in violating the rules of international legitimacy and international humanitarian law."
#Statement | The Foreign Ministry expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation and categorical rejection of the extremist remarks by two ministers in the Israeli occupation government. pic.twitter.com/2cVjVpW8gE
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) January 4, 2024
US slams Smotrich, Ben-Gvir's remarks as 'inflammatory, irresponsible'
The United States denounced on Tuesday statements made by the two Israeli ministers that Palestinians should be forced out of Gaza and be replaced with settlers, but reiterated its stance that Hamas and other Resistance groups should not be governing the besieged Strip in the future.
This comes as the US repeatedly announced that it will place no conditions on weapons and supplies provided to the occupation entity to conduct its war on Gaza.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Washington "rejects recent statements from Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza."
"This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible," he said, adding that it is the "clear, consistent, and unequivocal" US position that "Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no terror groups able to threaten Israel."
Ben-Gvir had formerly urged for "a solution to encourage the emigration of Gaza's residents."
This sentiment has been repeatedly announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Smotrich.
Ben-Gvir considered that establishing settlements in Gaza after forcibly displacing its residents "is a correct, just, moral and humane solution."
Commenting on the reports, the Palestinian Presidency warned that this is an attempt to "complete the Balfour Declaration" and expressed strong rejection of this measure, announcing that Blair is considered to be "an unwelcome person in the Palestinian territories.”
