UAE rejects attempts to displace Palestinians from Gaza

Saudi Arabia says it will not move to establish relations with Israel unless Palestinian state created

A Palestinian flag flies above destroyed buildings in Rafah, southern Gaza. Reuters

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The UAE on Wednesday joined other Arab countries in rejecting any infringement of Palestinians’ rights and attempts at displacement, saying the major challenges facing the region required intensified regional and international efforts for a comprehensive peace process.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the UAE “underscored the importance of finding a serious political horizon to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and establish an independent Palestinian state, reflecting the UAE’s belief that regional stability can only be attained through the two-state solution”.

The statement came after US President Donald Trump said his country would take over the Gaza Strip and resettle Palestinians elsewhere.

Mr Trump made the comments during a news conference after he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Tuesday. Mr Trump also said he was prepared to send troops.

Saudi Arabia also stressed its rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians from Gaza and said it would not move towards establishing ties with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry's statement on X appeared to contradict earlier comments by Mr Netanyahu saying he believed the establishment of ties was “going to happen”.

“Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the ministry said.

Riyadh reaffirmed its “unequivocal rejection of any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, land annexation, or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land”.

Mr Trump suggested America's “ownership position” over Gaza would be long term. He said he is prepared to send US troops to the Palestinian territory if necessary, and claimed his plan would bring stability to the Middle East. He added that he had spoken to regional leaders about the plan and they supported it.

The National assesses US President Donald Trump's statement on taking control of Gaza

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Mr Trump has floated the idea of relocating Palestinians in Gaza to Jordan or Egypt, and suggested other countries in the region should host them too. Both Amman and Cairo have rejected the idea.

President Sheikh Mohamed on Tuesday discussed with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the importance of advancing a lasting peace in Gaza based on the two-state solution.

King Abdullah II of Jordan and Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh El Sisi also stressed in a phone call the need to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza and reaffirmed their support of a Palestinian state.

The phone calls come after the foreign ministers of five Arab countries and a senior Palestinian official sent a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio opposing plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited Amman for talks with King Abdullah on Wednesday, while his Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa met Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo.

The Jordanian royal court said King Abdullah “stresses the need to put a stop to [Israeli] settlement expansion, expressing rejection of any attempts to annex land and displace the Palestinians”, in a post on X.

King Abdullah also discussed the situation in Gaza in separate phone calls to the Saudi Crown Prince, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman to discuss “the critical situation in Gaza”, the royal court said.

Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza ceasefire talks, said it was busy with phase two of the deal and it was too early to talk about the issue of Palestinians and displacement, Qatar's foreign ministry representative told Fox News on Wednesday.

“We know that there is a lot of trauma with the Palestinian side when it comes to displacement. However, again, it's too early to talk about this, because we don't know how this war will end,” Majed Al Ansari said.

Houthi political bureau member Mohammed Al Bukhaiti said on X that Mr Trump's comments represented “American arrogance” and would work if “it is met with submission from the Arabs”.

“If Egypt or Jordan or both decide to challenge America, Yemen will stand with all its strength by its side, to the furthest extent and without red lines,” he said.

The Houthis have carried out several attacks against Israel and commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea, which the group says were in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said even thinking about the idea of expelling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip is a “waste of time” and would be unacceptable to Ankara and other countries in the region.

“The issue of deportation is something neither the region nor we can accept. Even thinking about it is a waste of time. Even opening it up for discussion is wrong,” Mr Fidan said in remarks to Turkish state media. “We are against all initiatives that try to exclude Gaza's own people from the equation.”