The foreign ministers of Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Indonesia and Pakistan on Sunday strongly condemned remarks by two Israeli ministers regarding the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement, the ministers condemned recent remarks by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Defense Minister Israel Katz, including proposals for plans and mechanisms aimed at "forcibly removing Palestinians from their land."
"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," they said.
The ministers reaffirmed their rejection of any attempts or plans to displace Palestinians, whether within or outside the occupied Palestinian territory, and warned against turning calls for forced displacement into declared policy or concrete measures aimed at uprooting Palestinians from their land.
The ministers stressed that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory and underscored the need to preserve the unity of the Palestinian territory in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
They reaffirmed that "the only path toward achieving a just and lasting peace lies in the implementation of the two-state solution with the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital."
The ministers also called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to shoulder its responsibilities, firmly confront attempts to impose a new demographic or geographic reality in the occupied Palestinian territory, and ensure respect for international law.
8 countries jointly condemn Israeli ministers' Gaza displacement remarks
International journalists were able to visit Gyirong Port in southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region over the weekend, noting both the ongoing rescue efforts and the headway being made in recovery after the devastating mudslide.
The mudslide, triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse in Nepal, hit Gyirong Port on August 26, killing 43 and leaving 519 missing as of Saturday.
Journalists from the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Brazil, and other countries and regions visited the hardest-hit area at Gyirong Port on Saturday and Sunday to learn about the disaster situation, ongoing rescue efforts, and progress in recovery and reconstruction.
"So it's really impressive how fast China act, and how fast the state came to rescue their people, to bring support, economic support. So, I think it's emotional to see how everything changed so fast. I see this 11 days ago, this area was very destructed and we can see that the roads have been opened. And the people are coming and even the journalists now can come to show to the world what's happening here," said Bruno Falchi, a journalist with Venezuela-based teleSUR.
Others expressed shock at the scale of destruction and said the disaster underscored the need for global cooperation on climate change.
"Climate change is not a problem for one country, it's for the whole world. And I think to fight this, to meet this challenge, you need collective efforts. Only one country cannot do miracles. So this is, I think, collective responsibility of the entire world. So, they get together, and they put their head together and think how to reduce this frequency. So, I think this climate change is a big issue for the whole world. And the whole world should have collective efforts how to reduce all this," said Muhammad Asghar, a correspondent for the Associated Press of Pakistan in China.
Foreign journalists visit Gyirong Port, note recovery efforts after deadly mudslide
