OVIEDO, Spain

Spain’s foreign minister on Wednesday rebuked US President Donald Trump’s plan for the US to seize control of Gaza while sending the Palestinians there to other countries.

“Gaza is the land of the Palestinian Gazans. The Palestinian Gazans must stay in Gaza,” Jose Manuel Albares told a news conference in Madrid.

“Gaza is part of a future Palestinian state, which Spain is committed to,” he added.

Albares' remarks follow Trump’s declaration that the “US will take over the Gaza Strip” during a news conference Tuesday evening alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump said the Gazan population should be moved to countries like Jordan and Egypt, with the US turning the land into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

The proposal has been rejected around the world by both UN officials and a host of countries including China, Türkiye, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia.

Albares also said that Palestinians can count on Madrid’s support.

“Palestinians … should know that Spain and the Spanish people will support them, just as we are supporting them with humanitarian aid.”

Since the current conflict broke out in Israel and Gaza in October 2023, Spain has been one of the strongest pro-Palestinian voices in Europe.

Spain last year recognized Palestinian statehood and has been advocating for a definitive two-state solution.

Madrid has also increased humanitarian aid for Gaza as well as funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

On Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the situation in Gaza as “mass murder.”

On Tuesday, Albares said Spain was doing “everything possible” to make sure crimes in Gaza “do not go unpunished.”