United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday warned against the “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza as he rejected US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for the United States to take control of the Palestinian people and the territory.
“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 own land,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a speech to a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, that deals with the rights of Palestinians, according to AFP.
Guterres further added, “We have seen the realisation of those rights steadily slip farther out of reach.”
“We have seen a chilling, systematic dehumanisation and demonisation of an entire people,” the UN chief said.
On Tuesday, during a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump made a startling proposal for the United States to assume “long-term ownership” of Gaza, sparking global outrage. His remarks followed repeated calls in recent days for the residents of the war-torn territory to relocate to Jordan or Egypt.
Speaking specifically on Trump’s proposal, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that any forced displacement of people “is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
