Arab countries and the Palestinian Authority published a joint statement on Saturday rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Gazans to Egypt and Jordan.
The foreign ministers of those countries and of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates 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 states, the document said.
“We affirm our rejection of [any attempts] to compromise Palestinians’ unalienable rights, whether through settlement activities, or evictions or [annexations] of land or through vacating the land from its owners ... in any form or under any circumstances or justifications,” the statement read.
The move could “threaten the region’s stability, risk expanding the conflict, and undermine prospects for peace and coexistence among its peoples,” the text continued.
Last week, Trump said he had asked Jordan’s 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.
“I said to him that I’d love you to take on more, because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“It’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change,” he continued.
He added that he had also asked Egypt to take in Gazans.
The proposal was immediately rejected by Egypt and Jordan, with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi saying: “Our refusal of displacement is a steadfast position that will not change. Jordan is for Jordanians, and Palestine is for Palestinians.”
Palestinians currently account for more than 70% of the population of Jordan, which is ruled by the Hashemite royal house, whose origins are in the Arabian Peninsula.
