RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has condemned the Israeli occupation authorities’ announcement regarding the establishment of an agency aimed at displacing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
The Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Tuesday, also slammed the approval of the separation of 13 illegal settlement neighbourhoods in the West Bank in preparation for legitimising them as colonial settlements.
“The Kingdom reiterates its firm rejection of Israel’s continuous violations of international law and international humanitarian law,” it said.
The ministry affirmed that lasting and just peace cannot be achieved without the Palestinian people obtaining their legitimate rights in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Monday that the agency is being built to oversee the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli action comes in response to suggestions from US President Donald Trump that Gaza residents should be relocated to other countries. This proposal has been condemned by many countries and rights groups who have labelled it as ethnic cleansing, the forcible removal of a population from its homeland.
The Muslim World League (MWL), an international NGO based in Makkah, also condemned Israel’s Gaza displacement plan.
In a statement issued by the General Secretariat, the Secretary-General of MWL and Chairman of the Organisation of Muslim Scholars Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa denounced this aggressive approach by the Israeli government.
He described it as a blatant violation of all international and humanitarian laws and conventions, and a deliberate attempt to undermine every prospect for a just and comprehensive peace that would bring security and stability to the region and the world.
According to the Health Ministry, the death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza has reached 50,144, with 113,408 injured amid intensified Israeli bombardment.
