Foreign ministers from Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates condemned calls for the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza in a joint statement. The statement responded to remarks by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz concerning the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza.
The ministers said proposals for plans and mechanisms to forcibly remove Palestinians from their land clearly violated the principles of international law and international humanitarian law. They said the remarks posed a direct threat to the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
Warning against the displacement of Palestinians
The joint statement rejected all initiatives aimed at displacing the Palestinian people, regardless of the justification, whether within the occupied Palestinian territories or outside them.
The ministers warned that calls for forced displacement becoming official policy or turning into concrete measures to remove Palestinians from their land would have serious consequences. They said such an approach would harm international peace efforts that reject the forced resettlement of Palestinians in Gaza and weaken hopes for stability in the region.
Gaza’s territorial integrity with the West Bank
The statement emphasized that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territories. It said Gaza’s territorial integrity with the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, must be preserved.
The ministers said the only path to a just and lasting peace was to implement the two-state solution. They also reiterated their commitment to establishing an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Türkiye and the seven other countries called on the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to oppose attempts to impose a new demographic or geographic reality in the occupied Palestinian territories and to ensure compliance with international law.
The ministers also reiterated their support for the Palestinian people’s struggle to preserve their presence on their own land. They said they opposed all initiatives aimed at weakening the Palestinian cause or undermining the legitimate rights of Palestinians.
