Ahmed Asmar
13 March 2025•Update: 13 March 2025
ANKARA
The Palestinian group Hamas on Thursday welcomed a statement by US President Donald Trump showing an apparent retreat from his proposed displacement plan of Palestinians from the war-devastated Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Trump said during a meeting in the White House with Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin that “nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza” in response to a question.
"If the statements by US President Trump represent a retreat from all the idea of displacing the people of the Gaza Strip, they are welcomed,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement.
"We call for reinforcing this position by obligating the (Israeli) occupation to implement all the terms of the (Gaza) ceasefire agreements,” he added.
The Hamas spokesman urged Trump to refrain from "aligning with the vision of the extreme Zionist right" against Palestinians and their land.
Trump’s comments came after Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Sunday that Tel Aviv would open a new "Emigration Authority" office under the Defense Ministry to manage the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, according to multiple media reports.
An Arab summit and Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in early March approved a comprehensive Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its Palestinian residents. The plan is expected to take five years to complete, with an estimated cost of around $53 billion.
The Arab proposal came after Trump's plan to "take over" Gaza and resettle Palestinians to turn the territory into a tourist destination. The idea was rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who said it amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Over 48,500 people have been killed, mostly women and children, in a brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 2023. The assault was paused under a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal, which took hold in January.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
