UN Rejects Forced Displacement of Gaza Residents

SEAToday.com, Jakarta - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opposes any proposal of forced displacement or “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza.

Guterres' spokesman Farhan Haq made the statement in response to US President Donald Trump's plan to take over Gaza and not allow its residents to return to the Palestinian enclave.

“Clearly the Secretary-General does not agree with anything that involves the forced transfer of populations,” Haq said at a UN briefing on Monday (2/10).

Last week, Guterres had reiterated his position that no effort to deal with Palestinians requires “ethnic cleansing”, Haq said.

Earlier, Trump said that Palestinians would not be allowed to return to Gaza after they were relocated to new communities in other countries in the Middle East.

When announcing his controversial plan for Gaza, Trump claimed that he could force Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinian refugees - a claim that was publicly denied by both countries as well as by the Palestinians.