Spain‘s foreign minister on Monday rejected US President Donald Trump‘s idea to “clean out” Gaza and relocate its population to other Arab nations.
“Our position is clear: Gazans need to stay in Gaza. Gaza is part of the future Palestinian state, which needs to be controlled by a single government,” said Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, speaking in Brussels.
“As soon as possible, Gaza and the West Bank should be governed by a single national Palestinian authority,” he continued.
On Saturday, Trump told reporters that he had spoken with the king of Jordan about housing 1.5 million people from Gaza.
“Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change,” Trump said aboard Air Force One, according to CNN.
Albares insisted that the European Union should instead be focused on immediately helping “the humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza with aid for food, health, and education needs and guaranteeing the presence of UNRWA.
He said Spain will also request an urgent EU mission to deploy at the Rafah crossing to help normalize the border between Gaza and Egypt.
He offered Spain’s Civil Guard police force to take part in the mission.
Spain would increase its financial aid to Palestine and UNRWA to €50 million ($52 million), Albares pledged. “We have a window of hope in Gaza, a ceasefire that isn’t permanent, but we need to work to make it so.”
Speaking to reporters, he also called Israel‘s attacks on Lebanese civilians on Sunday “unacceptable.”
“Twenty-two dead civilians are too many. All points of this ceasefire must be complied with. Lebanon‘s armed forces should deploy in the south, and Israeli forces should withdraw to guarantee the country’s sovereignty,” he said.
Albares insisted that the EU should also boost its aid to Lebanon to help rebuild the nation and its armed forces.