UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Photo courtesy Al Arabiya Al Hadath
His comments come as various Palestinian factions and Arab and Muslim leaders condemned the recent proposals made by US President Donald Trump to "clean out" the war-devastated Gaza Strip and transfer the population to Egypt and Jordan.
"Forcing Palestinians out of Gaza would amount to ethnic cleansing. Such a move would make any hope for a two-state solution impossible," said the UN chief who had lobbied for months to reach a ceasefire in the Israeli war in Gaza.
Guterres added that reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip, devastated by 15 months of Israeli bombardment, would require international cooperation.
He urged Israel to respect international law, ensuring that Palestinian rights are protected during the reconstruction process.
In conclusion, Guterres emphasized to Al Arabiya Al Hadath that Palestinians "must have the ability to choose their own leadership and their own future."
No to transfer!
In a controversial statement on Saturday, President Trump announced that he would propose relocating Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Egypt.
Cairo and Amman immediately rejected Trump's statements and proposals as an attempt to liquidate the just Palestinian cause.
On Wednesday, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi asserted that Egypt "cannot participate in the injustice of displacing the Palestinian people."
President El-Sisi asserted that such displacement "can never be tolerated or allowed" due to its potential threat to Egypt's national security in his first public comment on Trump's recent proposals to relocate the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
During a Wednesday press conference with Kenyan President William Ruto, the Egyptian president emphasized that Egypt is committed to working with the US president to reach the desired peace in the Middle East based on the two-state solution.
He reiterated that the constants of the historical Egyptian position on the Palestinian cause "can never be compromised in any way."
"There are historical rights that cannot be ignored," said the Egyptian president, adding: "Egyptian, Arab, and international public opinion recognized a historical injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people for the past 70 years."
He highlighted how the world has witnessed the return of the Palestinian people to the Gaza Strip after enduring destruction for more than 15 months.
A day earlier, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi noted his country's rejection of the US president's proposal, saying, "Jordan is for Jordanians and Palestine for Palestinians."
On Friday, thousands of Egyptians, including political figures and delegations, gathered in Egypt's Rafah in North Sinai, on the border with Gaza, to protest President Trump's transfer proposals and reaffirm popular support to the Palestinian cause.
Short link: