Mohamed Majed
26 January 2025•Update: 27 January 2025
GAZA CITY, Palestine
Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Sunday rejected US President Donald Trump’s call for resettlement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Egypt.
"Our people, who have stood steadfast in the face of the most horrific acts of genocide in modern history perpetrated by the fascist Israeli occupation army…categorically reject any plans for their relocation or deportation from their land,” Hamas said in a statement.
The group called on the US administration "to abandon these proposals, which align with Israeli plans and clash with the rights and free will of our people."
It also demanded the US administration “to work to enable the Palestinian people to achieve their freedom and establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Hamas also called on Washington to pressure Israel “to expedite mechanisms for rebuilding what was destroyed during its brutal war on Gaza and restoring normal life in the strip."
It also appealed to Arab and Islamic nations, particularly Egypt and Jordan, “to reaffirm their steadfast positions rejecting resettlement and deportation” and provide all forms of support to the Palestinian people.
Describing Gaza as a "demolition site," Trump called on Saturday to “just clean out” the Palestinian enclave and resettle Palestinians in Jordan and Egypt.
The proposal came a week after a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.
The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala
