RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: The International Organization for Migration will not be part of “any kind of forced” evacuation of Palestinians out of Gaza, the director of the UN agency, Amy Pope, told AFP on Tuesday.
Any such displacement would be a “red line” for governments in the region, said Pope, after US President Donald Trump proposed taking over the war-battered Gaza Strip and removing its more than two million Palestinian inhabitants.
“We made a commitment to the communities that we serve that we wouldn’t be involved in any kind of forced movement of population or evacuation of people,” said Pope, who is American.
Trump’s proposal to rebuild Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” while its residents are displaced prompted widespread criticism when it was first presented in early February.
“As we’re seeing right now, (the displacement of Palestinians) has been a red line for both the government of Jordan and Egypt,” Pope said of the two countries Trump has said could take in Gazans.
“We’re a humanitarian actor,” she added.
“So we... certainly don’t engage in activities that would be red lines for key member states.”
Faced with strong opposition in the Middle East and beyond, Trump said in an interview on Friday he was “not forcing” his plan.
Pope, in a visit to Gaza last week, said she saw that “things are just very much destroyed.”
“You... see buildings that have been completely destroyed, you see rubble” and burnt cars, she told AFP.
“I saw people on the side of the road in the shadow of crumbled buildings, around fires, trying to stay warm.”
Gaza’s civil defense agency said earlier on Tuesday that six newborn babies died in a cold snap which has gripped the territory over the past week.
More than 15 months of war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, have left much of Gaza in ruins and most of its population displaced.
UN estimates put the cost of reconstruction at more than $53 billion.
A fragile ceasefire in effect since January 19 has allowed an increase in humanitarian aid into Gaza, though Hamas has accused Israel of blocking the entry of some essential supplies.
UN agency chief says ‘wouldn’t be involved in any’ Gaza displacement
https://arab.news/wypax
UN agency chief says ‘wouldn’t be involved in any’ Gaza displacement
- More than 15 months of war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, have left much of Gaza in ruins and most of its population displaced
Israel prevents Palestinian vice president from attending Christmas Eve Mass in Bethlehem
- It is uncertain who from the Palestinian Authority will attend the midnight Mass in Bethlehem, which will be held for the first time in two years
LONDON: Israeli authorities prevented Hussein Al-Sheikh, the vice president of the Palestinian Authority, from attending the Christmas Eve Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Wednesday.
Forces prevented Al-Sheikh’s convoy from entering the city, believed to be the birthplace of Christ, located south of the occupied West Bank.
President Mahmoud Abbas assigned Al-Shiekh to represent him at the event and attend the Mass, according to Wafa news agency.
Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem were canceled for the past two years due to the alleged genocide in Gaza by Israel in October 2023. Manger Square instead featured a nativity scene of the infant Jesus surrounded by rubble and barbed wire, symbolizing the crisis in Gaza.
It is uncertain who from the PA will attend the midnight Mass in Bethlehem, which will be held for the first time in two years. The PA has limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank, including Bethlehem. Christians make up less than 2 percent of the territory’s approximately 3 million Palestinian residents.
