United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday issued a stark warning against ethnic cleansing in Gaza as he strongly rejected a controversial proposal by former United States President Donald Trump for Washington to take control of the Palestinian territory and displace its residents.
Donald Trump made the proposal during a White House news conference on Tuesday alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating that the United States should assume “long-term ownership” of Gaza. The remarks triggered widespread international criticism, especially as Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested in recent days that residents of the war-ravaged enclave should be relocated to Jordan or Egypt.
In his address to the United Nations committee dealing with Palestinian rights, António Guterres emphasized that Palestinians have the inalienable right to live in their homeland and denounced the ongoing suffering in Gaza. He condemned the “chilling, systematic dehumanization and demonization of an entire people” while reaffirming that nothing could justify the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel. However, he added that the scale of destruction and humanitarian catastrophe caused by Israel’s military response could not be justified either.
United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, responding directly to Donald Trump’s proposal, stated that any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza would amount to ethnic cleansing. He stressed the importance of adhering to international law and avoiding any actions that would lead to mass displacement.
Following the global backlash, officials from the administration of Donald Trump attempted to soften the proposal on Wednesday, clarifying that any displacement of Gaza’s population would only be temporary while the devastated territory is rebuilt. They also stated that Donald Trump had not committed to deploying United States troops to enforce his plan.
António Guterres reiterated the United Nations’ long-standing position that a two-state solution remains the only viable path to lasting peace, with Israel and a fully independent Palestinian state coexisting side by side. He asserted that any lasting peace must include irreversible steps toward ending the occupation and ensuring Gaza remains an integral part of a future Palestinian state.
Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, firmly rejected Donald Trump’s proposal, stating that Palestinians would never abandon Gaza. He reaffirmed that Gaza is an essential part of the Palestinian homeland and dismissed any plans for forced relocation. He also urged global leaders to push forward with an upcoming international conference, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France in June, to discuss the crisis and work toward a diplomatic resolution.
Despite large-scale destruction in Gaza’s northern region, including the near-total devastation of Gaza City, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned since late January under a fragile truce that has halted more than 15 months of war. Riyad Mansour insisted that Palestinians have the right to return not just to Gaza but also to their ancestral homes in present-day Israel, from which many were displaced over decades of conflict.
