Vatican responds to Trump's Gaza plan: 'No deportations.'
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Cardinal Pietro Parolin emphasized that all Palestinians who were born in Gaza should remain in Gaza, while renewing the Vatican's calls for a two-state solution
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Secretary of State of the Holy See Cardinal Pietro Parolin addresses the Summit of the Future, in the United Nations General Assembly, on September 23, 2024 (AP)
The Vatican's lead diplomat denounced Trump's plan for the United States to take over Gaza and forcibly remove the Palestinians, saying "No deportations, and this is one of the fundamental points," at an event in Rome on Thursday.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin said "Whoever was born and has lived in Gaza must remain on their land," renewing the Vatican's stance on a two-state solution in Palestine, in the second response by a Catholic Official to Trump's policies.
Pope Francis criticized Trump's plan by issuing an unusual open letter that condemned the United States' crackdown on immigrants in the US saying "What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly."
Trump's Gaza Plan Invokes Worldwide Rage
Trump's plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza and develop it into the "Riviera of the Middle East" was met with outrage from countries and entities who opposed the plan and called for a solution that keeps the Palestinians in their lands.
Trump announced "The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it. And be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on this site."
UN Commission of Inquiry chair Navi Pilay said "Trump is woefully ignorant of international law and the law of occupation. Forcible displacement of an occupied group is an international crime, and amounts to ethnic cleansing," in a talk with Politico.
Egypt is planning to propose a counter to Trump's plan focused on rebuilding Gaza while keeping the Palestinians in their land, emphasizing that "Any solution to the Palestinian cause must take into account avoiding jeopardizing peace gains in the region," in a statement by the Foreign Ministry.
Turkish President Erdogan strongly denounced Trump's proposal, "calling it meaningless and politically motivated" adding that "From our perspective, there is nothing worth talking about the proposals brought up by the new US administration regarding Gaza under the pressure of the Zionist lobby."
The Chinese Foreign Ministry opposed Trump's plan, with the Chinese FM saying that "[China] all along believed that ‘the Palestinians governing Palestine’ is the fundamental principle of post-conflict governance of Gaza."
