Five Arab foreign ministers and a senior Palestinian official have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio opposing the relocation of Paleą²stinians from Gaza.
The letter, obtained by Axios, urges that Palestinians be involved in the rebuilding of Gaza following the Israel-Hamas war, which is currently under a fragile ceasefire while hostages taken during Hamasās Oct. 7, 2023 attack are being released in stages.
This letter represents a united effort by Arab nations to discourage U.S. President Donald Trump from his repeated proposals āto move Palestinians to Egypt, Jordan and other countries during Gazaās reconstruction.
The letter, signed by the šforeign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan, as well as by Palestinian Authority adviser Hussein al-Sheikh, warns that further displacement could destabilize the region.
They stressed that Palestinians should take the lead in rebuilding Gaza with international support, and cautioned against Israeli deportationź§ of Palestinians, viewing it as an escalation of the šconflict.
The Arab ministers reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution as the path to peace and security for both Israel and the Paš lestinians, offering support for a resolution in line with President Trumpās vision.
Arab countries and the P.A. published a similar joint statement on Saturday rejeļ·½cting Trumpās proposal.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE published the statement following a summit meeting in Cairo, according to the Associated Press.
The statement also represents the official position of the Arab League, a regional organization with 22 member statesš ·, the document saidš.
āWe affirm our šrejection of [any attempts] to compromise Palestiniansā unalienable rights, whether through settlement activities, or evictions or [annexations] of land or through vacating the land from its owners ā¦ in any form or under any circumstances or justifications,ā the statement read.
The move could āthź§reaten the regionās stability, risk expanding the conflict, and undermine prospects for pešace and coexistence among its peoples,ā the text continued.
š„Last week, Trump said he had asked Jordanās King Abdullah II to take in more Palestinians from Gaza, where entire neighborhoods have been destroyed during the 15 months of fighting between Hamas and Israel.
āI saidź§ to him that Iād love you to take on more, because Iām looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and itās a mess, itās a real mess,ā he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
āItās literally a demolition site right now. Almost everythingās demolished, and people are dying there,š¦ so Iād rather get involved with some of the Aš¦©rab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change,ā he continued.
He added that he had also asked š§øEgyptš to take in Gazans.
The proposąµ²al was immediately rejected by Egypt and Jordan, with Joārdanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi saying: āOur refusal of displacement is a steadfast position that will not change. Jordan is for Jordanians, and Palestine is for Palestinians.ā
Palestinians currently account for more than 70% of the population of Jordan, which is rulešd by the Hashemite royal house, whose origins are in the Arabian Peninsula.