https://arab.news/n3d43
- Trump had said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere
DUBAI: Syria Arab Republic鈥檚 new president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, said in remarks broadcast on Monday he believes US President Donald Trump鈥檚 plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza and take over the Strip 鈥渋s a serious crime that will ultimately fail.鈥�
Trump had said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. He said Palestinians would not have the right of return to Gaza under his proposal.
In an interview with a UK podcast, Sharaa, an Islamist whose militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham was once an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, said Trump鈥檚 proposal would not succeed.
鈥淚 believe no power can drive people from their land. Many countries have tried to do it and they have all failed, especially during the recent war in Gaza over the past year and a half,鈥� he said.
Sharaa, declared president for a transitional phase after his group鈥檚 fighters led the overthrow of Bashar Assad, said it would be neither 鈥渨ise nor morally or politically right鈥� for Trump to lead an effort to force Palestinians out of their land.
鈥淥ver 80 years of this conflict, all attempts to displace them have failed; those who left have regretted their decision. The Palestinian lesson that every generation has learned is the importance of holding on to their land,鈥� he added.
Egypt, Jordan and other Arab nations have strongly opposed any attempt to push Palestinians over the border.
They fear any mass movement across the border would further undermine prospects for a 鈥渢wo-state solution鈥� 鈥� creating a state of Palestine next to Israel 鈥� and leave Arab nations dealing with the consequences.