11h ago 15.05 EST The United Arab Emirates said it rejects any attempts to displace Palestinians in response to Donald Trump’s proposal for the US to take control of the Gaza Strip. The UAE foreign ministry “stressed its categorical rejection of any infringement on the Palestinians’ unalienable rights, and any attempts of displacement”, according to a statement obtained by Agence-France-Presse. The statement continued: The UAE underscored the importance of finding a serious political horizon to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and establish an independent Palestinian state, reflecting the UAE’s belief that regional stability can only be attained through the two-state solution Share
11h ago 14.50 EST Oliver Holmes Planning to “clean out” Palestinians as a real estate money-making scheme is an idea that has long united the Israeli settler movement and some of Donald Trump’s circle of US property developers. For decades, state-backed settlers have used concrete, steel and brick to build on occupied land in Palestine in a successful effort to use town-building as a means to claim territory and permanently force Palestinians from their homeland. This method appealed to sections of Trump’s first administration, and not just because it was filled with apocalyptic evangelical Christians, who see a Jewish presence in the Holy Land as a biblical precondition for Armageddon, which they believe will bring the return of Jesus Christ. It also spoke to the real estate mindset of Trump’s family and associates, most prominently his son-in-law Jared Kushner, the architect of a 2020 “peace” plan for the Middle East that was never implemented but was heavily focused on investments. Now, Trump has expanded on the idea to its most extreme position, calling for the US to effectively colonise Gaza in what would amount to an ethnic cleansing of the population of about 2 million people. The plan is then to “develop” on the levelled ground, which is still filled with the bodies of tens of thousands people killed by Israel. ‘Waterfront property’: What are Trump’s real estate interests in Palestine? Read more Share
11h ago 14.38 EST A former senior UK Foreign Office diplomat has warned that Britain is at risk of “pulling its punches“ and becoming “complicit in acts … which unravel the international system and the rule of law“ in its response to Donald Trump’s comments about Gaza. “Politics is the art of the possible and I am concerned that the British government is slightly at risk of pulling its punches,” Sir Simon Fraser, the former top diplomat at the Foreign Office, told Times Radio on Wednesday. He said he understood that the UK-US relationship is “key”, particularly post-Brexit, and that the British government “doesn’t want to alienate Trump”. Fraser added: The risk, however, is that we accidentally become complicit in acts by Donald Trump which unravel the international system and the rule of law and all the accepted principles of international behaviour, and we end up on the wrong side of that fence. Share Updated at 17.11 EST
11h ago 14.32 EST Gaza is ‘integral’ to future Palestinian state, says EU Gaza should be an essential part of a future Palestinian state, an EU foreign policy spokesperson said in response to Donald Trump’s proposal for the US to take over the Palestinian territory. The European bloc remains “fully committed” to a two-state solution, which it believes it the “only path to long-term peace for both Israelis and Palestinians,” they said, adding: Gaza is an integral part of a future Palestinian state. Share
11h ago 14.21 EST Benjamin Netanyahu has posted a photograph showing him meeting with the US vice-president, JD Vance, and national security adviser Michael Waltz. The Israeli leader described the meeting at Blair House as “excellent and warm”, adding: The friendship between Israel and the United States has never been stronger! An excellent and warm meeting at Blair House with U.S. Vice President @JDVance and National Security Advisor @michaelgwaltz. The friendship between Israel and the United States has never been stronger! 🇮🇱🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4gGYFjh4kk — Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) February 5, 2025 Share Updated at 17.11 EST
12h ago 14.03 EST Trump only meant to ‘generously’ offer to rebuild Gaza and not permanently move Palestinians out, says Rubio The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has suggested that Donald Trump was only proposing to be responsible for the reconstruction of Gaza, and not claim indefinite possession of the strip. Trump, in comments alongside Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, called for the permanent resettlement in neighbouring countries of the 2 million Palestinians who live in Gaza. Rubio, at a press conference in Guatemala City on Wednesday, said Trump’s proposal “was not meant as hostile.” He said: The only thing president Trump has done – very generously, in my view – is offer the United States’ willingness to step in, clear the debris, clean the place up from all the destruction … so that then people can move back in. View image in fullscreen US secretary of state Marco Rubio gives a joint news conference with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo at the National Palace in Guatemala City. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Trump wants to support “rebuilding homes and businesses and things of this nature, so that then people can move back in,” he said. He described Gaza as “akin to a natural disaster” where people could not live because of unexploded munitions, debris and rubble. In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you’re rebuilding it. Share Updated at 14.10 EST
12h ago 13.45 EST A Hezbollah official has described US plans to move Palestinians out of Gaza as “criminal orders”. The comments by Hussein Moussawi, political advisor to the group’s secretary general, were published in a statement from Hezbollah, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthi group said Yemen “stands beside Palestine in confronting all forms of aggression against the Palestinian cause”. Share
12h ago 13.38 EST White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is asked if Palestinians who want to stay in Gaza will be allowed to do so, under Donald Trump’s proposal. Leavitt dodges the question, instead saying that Trump is “committed to rebuilding Gaza and to temporarily relocating those who are there.” The president wants these individuals to live in peace. He is committed to doing that with this very bold new plan. Share