Trump's Gaza takeover plan violates UN resolutions: Jordanian scholar

U.S. President Donald Trump's recent proposal for his country to take over the Gaza Strip is a breach of the two-state solution and a serious violation of UN resolutions, Jordanian scholar Omar Al-Armouti has said on Sunday.

Trump's proposal for the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it after relocating Palestinians has met with widespread condemnation from European, Middle Eastern and other international leaders.

While voicing his opposition, Al-Armouti emphasized the importance of the two-state solution as the path to lasting peace in the region, saying the proposal is eliminating the legitimacy of the State of Palestine.

"Legally and morally, Trump has no right to do this. It is not allowed. As everyone knows, the international community has been advocating for years a two-state solution to establish an independent State of Palestine. But Trump's ideas would put an end to the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state, both of which are based on UN resolutions," he said.

Al-Armouti said Trump's Gaza plan will not promote peace and stability in the Middle East, but create chaos, adding that such ideas will inevitably lead to strong oppositions from the Arab world and countries around the globe.

"Not only Palestinians, but also Jordanians and the entire Arab world have voiced their strong opposition to Trump's remarks. The international community has also widely rejected his plan," he said.

Trump's Gaza takeover plan violates UN resolutions: Jordanian scholar

Trump's Gaza takeover plan violates UN resolutions: Jordanian scholar

Trump's Gaza takeover plan violates UN resolutions: Jordanian scholar

Trump's Gaza takeover plan violates UN resolutions: Jordanian scholar

Trump's Gaza takeover plan violates UN resolutions: Jordanian scholar

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight