Joint statement warns removal plans would risk undermining regional stability, violate international law
Palestinians walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, at Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, August 5, 2026. — REUTERS
The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday warned that any move to forcibly displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip would undermine regional stability, as they condemned proposals by senior Israeli ministers to remove Palestinians from their land.
The joint statement followed separate calls by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza. Katz said there was “no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration” and that Israel was prepared to move Palestinians “by sea, by air, by every way possible.” Meanwhile, Ben-Gvir proposed a seven-year plan for what he described as “voluntary emigration” and called for a dedicated government ministry for emigration.
In a joint statement shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign ministers strongly condemned the remarks by Katz and Ben-Gvir.
🔊PR No.2️⃣3️⃣5️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣
Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar. Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates
🔗⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ZIFAKgiXCR
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) September 6, 2026
“Such inflammatory statements and proposals flagrantly violate principles of international law, including international humanitarian law, and pose a direct threat to the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” the joint statement said.
The ministers reaffirmed their “unequivocal rejection and condemnation” of attempts or plans to displace Palestinians, whether within or outside the occupied Palestinian territory, under any pretext.
“They warn against the grave consequences of turning calls for forced displacement into declared policy or concrete measures aimed at uprooting Palestinians from their land,” the statement said.
The ministers said such actions would constitute a “direct challenge to international efforts aimed at achieving peace,“ particularly United States President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, which included an unequivocal rejection of forced displacement.
They warned that such moves would “gravely risk undermining prospects for stability in the region.”
The ministers also stressed that “the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,“ underscoring “the imperative of preserving the unity of the Palestinian territory in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
Read: Netanyahu-backed Israeli officials obstructing Trump’s Gaza plan: report
Further, the ministers noted that a two-state solution remained the only route to a just and lasting peace, with an independent Palestinian state established along the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with relevant international legitimacy resolutions.
The eight countries called on the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to fulfil its responsibilities by confronting attempts to impose a “new demographic or geographic reality” in the occupied Palestinian territory and ensuring respect for international law.
“The ministers reaffirm their continued full support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land and their rejection of all attempts aimed at erasing the Palestinian cause or undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,” the statement concluded.
