The UN chief warned against ethnic cleansing in Gaza as he rejected US President Donald Trump’s bombshell proposal for the United States to take control of the Palestinian territory and displace all its people.
“At its essence, the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people is about the right of Palestinians to simply live as human beings in their land,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a speech to a UN committee that deals with the rights of Palestinians.
But, he added, “we have seen the realization of those rights steadily slip farther out of reach.”
“We have seen a chilling, systematic dehumanization and demonization of an entire people,” Guterres said.
Guterres said nothing justified the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza but “the catalogue of destruction and unspeakable horrors” that came as Israel attacked Gaza relentlessly in reprisal could not be justified either.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, asked specifically about the Trump proposal, said “any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
“It is vital that we stay true to the bedrock of international law. It is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing.”
After an international outcry, Trump administration officials tried Wednesday to walk back the Trump proposal, saying any displacement of the Palestinians of Gaza would be temporary while the largely destroyed territory is rebuilt.
Trump had also not committed to deploying US troops to carry out his plan, they said.
