Syria’s Sharaa calls Trump Gaza plan ‘serious crime’ bound to fail

Syria’s Sharaa calls Trump Gaza plan ‘serious crime’ bound to fail
Syria Arab Republic’s interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa said US President Donald Trump’s proposal would not succeed. (Reuters)
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Updated 11 February 2025

Syria’s Sharaa calls Trump Gaza plan ‘serious crime’ bound to fail

Syria’s Sharaa calls Trump Gaza plan ‘serious crime’ bound to fail
  • 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’s new president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, said in remarks broadcast on Monday he believes US President Donald Trump’s plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza and take over the Strip “is a serious crime that will ultimately fail.”
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’s proposal would not succeed.
“I 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,” he said.
Sharaa, declared president for a transitional phase after his group’s fighters led the overthrow of Bashar Assad, said it would be neither “wise nor morally or politically right” for Trump to lead an effort to force Palestinians out of their land.
“Over 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,” 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 “two-state solution” – creating a state of Palestine next to Israel – and leave Arab nations dealing with the consequences.


Rubio expresses concern West Bank violence could hurt Gaza peace efforts

Rubio expresses concern West Bank violence could hurt Gaza peace efforts
Updated 13 November 2025

Rubio expresses concern West Bank violence could hurt Gaza peace efforts

Rubio expresses concern West Bank violence could hurt Gaza peace efforts
  • The latest spate of violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank could undermine US-backed peace efforts in Gaza, Rubio concerns

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed concern on Wednesday that the latest spate of violence by Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank could spill over and undermine US-backed peace efforts in Gaza.
“I hope not,” Rubio told reporters after a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers in Canada, when asked whether the West Bank events could endanger the Gaza ceasefire. “We don’t expect it to. We’ll do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen.”