Cairo [Egypt], September 6 : Egypt and Qatar on Friday strongly condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks regarding the displacement of Palestinians, including through the Rafah crossing, Al Jazeera reported.
In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Netanyahu's comments as part of "ongoing attempts to prolong escalation in the region and perpetuate instability while avoiding accountability for Israeli violations in Gaza," Al Jazeera reported.
In an interview with the Israeli Telegram channel Abu Ali Express, Netanyahu claimed there were "different plans for how to rebuild Gaza" and alleged that "half of the population wants to leave Gaza," insisting it was "not a mass expulsion." He also said, "I can open Rafah for them, but it will be closed immediately by Egypt."
Egypt's Foreign Ministry reiterated its "categorical rejection of forcibly or coercively displacing Palestinians from their land." The statement added, "[Egypt] stresses that these practices represent a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes that cannot be tolerated."
The ministry further affirmed that Egypt will never be complicit in such practices nor act as a conduit for Palestinian displacement, describing this as a "red line" that cannot be crossed, Al Jazeera reported.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry also criticised Netanyahu's remarks, calling them an "extension of the occupation's approach to violating the rights of the brotherly Palestinian people." The ministry added, "The policy of collective punishment practised by the occupation against the Palestinians ... will not succeed in forcing the Palestinian people to leave their land or in confiscating their legitimate rights."
Qatar stressed the need for the international community to "unite with determination to confront the extremist and provocative policies of the Israeli occupation, in order to prevent the continuation of the cycle of violence in the region and its spread to the world," Al Jazeera reported.
The war of words comes as Egypt and Qatar continue leading mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel, seeking a ceasefire in Gaza and facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid into the coastal enclave.
Al Jazeera's Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, said Netanyahu's comments were "incredibly controversial" since it's the Israeli government which has outlined that "it wants the Palestinians out of Gaza."
She added, "The condemnation from both Qatar and Egypt is essentially telling Israel this is all a part of its larger plan, that Israel is the one that waged war on the Gaza Strip, that the continuation of crimes against the Palestinian people and the total closure of the Rafah border crossing is the reason why they're imprisoned in Gaza, not because of anything else."
"It is Israel that single-handedly created this policy," Salhut said, Al Jazeera reported.
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