Pakistan, 7 other Muslim states condemn Israeli ministers' calls for displacement of Palestinians

Pakistan and seven other Muslim-majority countries have condemned recent calls by Israeli ministers for the removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, warning that such proposals violate international law and threaten regional stability.

The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates issued a joint statement on Sunday rejecting any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land.

“Such inflammatory statements and proposals flagrantly violate principles of international law, including international humanitarian law, and pose a direct threat to the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” they said.

The statement came after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Defence Minister Israel Katz publicly backed plans for the mass removal of Palestinians from Gaza.

Ben-Gvir proposed a seven-year plan based on what he described as “voluntary emigration” from the territory. Katz, meanwhile, said there could be no lasting solution for Gaza without the departure of its population.

“We are fully prepared to move them out if it becomes possible by sea, by air, by every way possible,” Katz said during an online conference hosted by Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

The eight foreign ministers said they firmly rejected any plan to remove Palestinians from the occupied territory, whether the displacement took place inside or outside the Palestinian territories.

They warned that turning such proposals into official policy or concrete measures could have “grave consequences” and amount to an attempt to uproot Palestinians from their homeland. The ministers also said such moves would undermine international efforts to bring an end to the Gaza conflict, including US President Donald Trump’s plan, which they said explicitly rejects forced displacement.

They stressed that Gaza remains an integral part of the Palestinian territory and called for the territory to remain united with the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The ministers reiterated their support for a two-state solution as the basis for a lasting peace.
They said an independent Palestinian state should be established on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with relevant international resolutions.

The countries also called on the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to act against any attempt to create a new demographic or geographic reality in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The ministers reaffirmed their support for Palestinians remaining on their land and rejected efforts to erase the Palestinian cause or deny the Palestinian people their rights.