You cannot tell two million people to move out of Gaza: Macron

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: CNN
12 Feb 2025 21:50

The French president underscores Palestinians’ determination to remain in their homeland and notes Jordan and Egypt’s unwillingness to accept large numbers of refugees from Gaza.

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French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony with the Indian Prime Minister to remember Indian soldiers killed in WWI at the Mazargues cemetery as part of a visit to Marseille, France, on February 12, 2025 (Photo by Christian Hartmann / POOL / AFP)

Amid widespread outrage over Donald Trump’s proposal to "take over" Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron has urged "respect" for Palestinians and their Arab neighbors, firmly rejecting the US President’s suggestion of mass displacement of Gaza's residents from their homeland.

"You cannot say to 2 million people, ‘okay, now guess what? You will move,’" Macron said in an exclusive interview with CNN on Thursday at the Élysée Palace, ahead of this week’s AI summit.

"The right answer is not a real estate operation, this is a political operation," he added.

While France has been vocal in supporting "Israel’s" so-called "right to self-defense" following the Palestinian Resistance's Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, Macron has not hesitated to publicly criticize "Israel’s" military actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

In October 2024, France suspended arms exports to the Israeli military and urged other nations to do the same.

"I have always reiterated my disagreement with [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu," Macron stated. "I don’t believe, once again, that such a massive operation targeting sometimes civilian people is the right answer."

Macron emphasized that an "efficient" approach to Gaza’s reconstruction "doesn’t mean automatically that you should lack respect to people or countries."

He underscored Palestinians’ determination to remain in their homeland and noted Jordan and Egypt’s unwillingness to accept large numbers of refugees from Gaza.

Trump’s contentious proposal outlined a plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring Egypt and Jordan while placing the enclave under "long-term" US ownership.

He sparked outrage by touting Gaza’s real estate potential, suggesting its redevelopment into a "Middle Eastern Riviera."

This is not the first time such an idea has been floated by figures close to Trump. Last year, his son-in-law and former senior advisor Jared Kushner suggested "cleaning up" Gaza by displacing civilians to capitalize on the territory’s "very valuable" waterfront.

Netanyahu endorsed Trump’s "remarkable idea" during a recent visit to the US.

Like France, the international community has strongly opposed Trump’s plan.

The United Nations was unequivocal, with its secretary-general warning Trump against "ethnic cleansing." Spain’s foreign minister told RNE radio that "Gazans’ land is Gaza."

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the proposal "unacceptable," while Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned it would "lead to new suffering and new hatred."

Some allies, however, have sought to balance maintaining ties with Trump while reaffirming longstanding positions on Palestinian rights.

"On the issue of Gaza, Donald Trump is right," UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy told reporters in Ukraine this week. "Looking at those scenes, Palestinians who have been horrendously displaced over so many months of war, it is clear that Gaza is lying in rubble."

Lammy added, "We have always been clear in our view that we must see two states and we must see Palestinians able to live and prosper in their homelands in Gaza."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer similarly stressed that Palestinians must be allowed to return to their homes in Gaza.