Trump’s Gaza plan ‘unacceptable’, says Turkish foreign minister
Turkey’s top diplomat on Wednesday criticised Donald Trump’s proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle Palestinians in other countries.
“This is an unacceptable issue,” Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, told the official news agency Anadolu in broadcast comments. He said relocating Palestinians from Gaza was something “neither we nor the region can accept”.
“It is wrong to even bring it up for discussion,” he added, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Key events
Andrew Sparrow
John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, has condemned President Trump’s plans for Gaza as “unacceptable and dangerous”, saying there “must be no ethnic cleansing”.
In a post on Bluesky he said:
After months of collective punishment and the death of over 40,000 in Gaza, any suggestion Palestinians should be removed from their home is unacceptable and dangerous.
There must be no ethnic cleansing.
Only a proper two state solution will bring lasting peace.”
And Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s former first minister, whose parents-in-law were trapped in Gaza for a number of weeks in 2023 after the 7 October Hamas massacre tiggered war, has also described President Trump’s plan as “ethnic cleansing”.
In a post on social media commenting on what Trump said during his White House press conference, Yousaf said:
Why is it a living hell? Who bombed it, killing tens of thousands of people, including children, and reduced Gaza to rubble?
Also, what Trump calls “permanent resettlement” is what the rest of the world should call ethnic cleansing.
Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza. Period.”
German foreign minister says Gaza expulsion would be unacceptable
German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said on Wednesday that the Gaza Strip belongs to Palestinians, and their expulsion would be unacceptable and contrary to international law, reports Reuters.
“The civilian population of Gaza must not be expelled and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or repopulated,” Baerbock said in a statement. “It is clear that Gaza – like the West Bank and East Jerusalem – belongs to the Palestinians. They form the basis for a future Palestinian state.”
“It would also lead to new suffering and new hatred,” said Baerbock in a statement, adding: “There must be no solution over the heads of the Palestinians.”
Hamas says Trump plan to take over Gaza will pour ‘oil on the fire’
Hamas on Wednesday condemned a proposal by US president Donald Trump to “take over” and “own” Gaza, saying it will fan the flames of Middle East violence.
Hamas said in a statement that the proposal “aiming for the United States to occupy the Gaza Strip” was “aggressive to our people and cause, won’t serve stability in the region and will only put oil on the fire”.
UK’s Lammy says need to ensure future for Palestinians in their homeland
The UK’s foreign minister, David Lammy, said on Wednesday it should be ensured that Palestinians have a future in their homeland, a day after US president Donald Trump proposed resettling Palestinians and taking over Gaza to develop it.
“We’ve always been clear in our belief that we must see two states. We must see Palestinians live and prosper in their homelands in Gaza and the West Bank,” he told a news conference during a trip to Kyiv.
Commenting on Donald Trump’s plans for Gaza and the Middle East, Dr Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and north Africa programme at Chatham House, shared the following analysis:
President Trump is perhaps trying to achieve a few objectives in his provocative comments on Gaza displacement. Firstly, he could be trying to disrupt conventional thinking on a longstanding conflict that has yet to be resolved or produce viable solutions.
He equally wants to show continued commitment to Israel to placate supporters and high-level donors in the United States and shore up Netanyahu’s fragile political balance of power to help the prime minister engage in phase two ceasefire negotiations.
More broadly, this is also part of his extreme deal-making strategy that will lay the ground for broader Israeli-Saudi normalisation talks. He could be using this to pave the way to promote Saudi normalisation in exchange for no annexation.
Obviously many Palestinians and Arab states are appalled by this proposition that contravenes international law. This will likely lead to greater multilateral unity between them as was evidenced by their collective statement over the weekend.
A more immediate consequence in reaction could see Hamas delay or slow down the release of further hostages.”
The leader of the UK’s Liberal Democrats party, Ed Davey, said on Wednesday that US president Donald Trump’s comments on Gaza “risk having the effect of a bull in a china shop”.
In a post on X, Davey wrote:
When we desperately need a fragile truce to hold, Trump’s ramblings on Gaza risk having the effect of a bull in a china shop.
The UK needs to make clear that these proposals must be rejected, and that we support international law and a two state solution based on 1967 borders.”
Patrick Wintour
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Aragchi, responded to US president Donald Trump’s decision to reimpose maximum economic sanctions on Iran by saying maximum pressure was a failed experiment, and trying it again will lead to another failure.
But he added:
If Trump’s main issue is that Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons, that is achievable and there is no problem.”
Araqchi said:
Iran’s positions are clear, it is a member of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, and there is also a fatwa from the leadership that has clarified the task for us.”
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has long argued with US presidents that Iran is bent on covertly building a nuclear weapon. Iran does not disguise it has built up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium way beyond what was permitted under the 2015 nuclear deal, bit says it did so in response to Trump pulling out of that deal in 2018.
Some Iranians also seized on Trump’s statement that he was willing to talk to Iran’s leaders about its nuclear program, and his admission: “There are many people at the top ranks of Iran that do not want to have a nuclear weapon.” Trump added he did not care if he called the Iranians to arrange talks or the Iranians rang him.
His suggestion that Iran does not have monolithic politics leaves space for negotiations about a new nuclear deal to replace the one signed in 2015, and Trump withdrew the US from in 2018. Trump portrayed himself as a man that had signed the presidential memorandum against Iran reluctantly, adding he hoped the measures would never need to be used. He said at the signing ceremony:
So this is one that I am torn about. I am signing this, but I am unhappy to do it.”
Iranian officials argued that the US attempt to weaken Iran’s already heavily sanctioned economy would be hard to achieve since the bulk of Iranian revenue comes through the export of oil to China, often via intermediaries. The imposition of extra sanctions was seen as a bargaining chip ahead of negotiations on a nuclear deal akin to the imposition of tariffs on other countries.
Trump also said he has left posthumous instructions that Iran was to be totally obliterated if they assassinated a US president or anyone close to him. In his remarks in the Oval Office, overshadowed by his plan to annex Gaza, he also said the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas would not have happened if the previous administration had continued to apply for economic pressure on Iran, suggesting Iran had been able to gather revenues to send to Hamas to mount the attack on Israel.
The issue of how Iran approaches any negotiations with the US over what it insists is a civil nuclear programme is politically explosive inside Iran with reports only this week denied by the foreign ministry that Ali Shamkani, the head of the national security commission, would lead as Iran’s representative at any talks.
So far the Iranian foreign ministry has led in the two rounds of talks in Geneva with the three European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal: France, Germany and the UK. Europe has warned that it will move to reapply UN sanctions in September if a new deal is not agreed by then to replace the 2015 deal that expires this year.
Nothing in what Trump said gave any clue as to the kind of assurances the US would need to lift sanctions, and to be assured that Iran has no intent to build a nuclear bomb. He did not indicate that the US would be seeking a wider deal with Iran that seeks to constrain its support for proxy forces in the region
Iran has slashed back the access UN weapons inspectors have to Iran’s nuclear sites. Both the UN inspectorate, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European countries have said it is possible Iran has acquired irreversible knowledge on how to build nuclear weapons.
Ismail Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said:
The claim that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons is a big lie that has been proven wrong many times, and if someone is looking for certainty about such an issue, it is easily obtainable.”
He added that unlike Israel “which is not a member of any international treaty banning weapons of mass destruction and explicitly threatened to use nuclear weapons in the war against the people of Gaza, the Islamic Republic of Iran is a member of the non-proliferation treaty and Iran’s nuclear programme is under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency in accordance with safeguards agreements”.
Basically, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers weapons of mass destruction to be haram for solid Islamic and humanitarian reasons.
Trump’s Gaza plan ‘unacceptable’, says Turkish foreign minister
Turkey’s top diplomat on Wednesday criticised Donald Trump’s proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle Palestinians in other countries.
“This is an unacceptable issue,” Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, told the official news agency Anadolu in broadcast comments. He said relocating Palestinians from Gaza was something “neither we nor the region can accept”.
“It is wrong to even bring it up for discussion,” he added, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has named Hezbollah leader, Naim Qassem, as his “representative” in Lebanon, Iranian media reported on Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The leader of the revolution in a decree introduced Sheikh Naim Qassem, secretary general of Hezbollah, as his representative in Lebanon,” Tasnim news agency said. Tasnim carried a copy of the official decree which said Qassem will represent Khamenei in handling “non-litigious matters” and “managing religious affairs” in Lebanon.
The news agency recalled that Qassem’s predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah – who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on south Beirut on 27 September – had held the same title.
Hezbollah is part of the “axis of resistance”, an alliance of Iran-backed armed groups opposed to Israel and its US ally.
Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of state in Iran, has representatives in all of Iran’s provinces with a mandate to collect religious funds and perform other duties, reports AFP.
Qassem was named Hezbollah leader in October after heir apparent Hashem Safieddine was killed in an Israeli strike shortly after Nasrallah’s death.
Hezbollah is to hold a public funeral for both Nasrallah and Safieddine on 23 February. It had put off public commemorations for safety reasons until after a fragile ceasefire with Israel took hold on 27 November.
PLO rejects ‘all calls for the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland’
The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said on Wednesday that it rejected any plan involving the displacement of Palestinians, after US president Donald Trump suggested Palestinians in Gaza move to Egypt or Jordan and the US “take control” of the territory.
Secretary general, Hussein al-Sheikh, said the PLO “affirms its rejection of all calls for the displacement of the Palestinian people from their homeland” and renews its support for a two-state solution, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Here are some of the latest images on the newswires today:
Iran says US ‘maximum pressure’ will fail as it did in Trump first term
Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Wednesday that US president Donald Trump’s reimposition of a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran will end in “failure” as it did during his first term, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“I believe that maximum pressure is a failed experiment and trying it again will turn into another failure,” Araghchi told reporters after a cabinet meeting, adding that Tehran was not pursuing nuclear weapons.
China says it opposes ‘forced transfer’ of Palestinians after Trump plan
China on Wednesday said it was opposed to the “forced transfer” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip after US president Donald Trump said he planned to “take control” of the territory.
“China has always maintained that Palestinian rule over Palestinians is the basic principle of the postwar governance of Gaza, and we are opposed to the forced transfer of the residents of Gaza,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, said when asked about Trump’s plan at a regular press conference, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Hamas says ‘racist’ Trump Gaza plan aims to ‘eliminate Palestinian cause’
Hamas on Wednesday rejected US president Donald Trump’s plan to “take control” of the Gaza Strip, calling it “racist” and aimed at eliminating the Palestinian cause.
“The American racist stance aligns with the Israeli extreme right’s position in displacing our people and eliminating our cause,” Hamas spokesperson, Abdel Latif al-Qanou, said in a statement, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
