United States President Donald Trump. Photo: Facebook
Image: Facebook
The Palestine Human Rights organisation Africa 4 Palestine has issued a vehement condemnation of remarks made by United States President Donald Trump during a recent press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The human rights group condemned Trump's declaration of plans to assume control over the Gaza Strip, following the forcible removal of its Palestinian inhabitants.
During the Tuesday press conference, Trump suggested that Palestinians would “love to leave” Gaza, while touting his vision of transforming the beleaguered enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” He claimed that under long-term US ownership, the area could be rebuilt, with promises of job creation and economic prosperity.
In response, human rights activist Alie Komape described the collaboration between Trump and Netanyahu as a "dangerous escalation in the ongoing genocidal campaign against the indigenous people of Palestine." He underlined that Trump's comments reflect a recklessness and a colonial mentality aimed at erasing Palestinian existence.
“Such statements are not only a violation of international law but also a blatant endorsement of Israel’s settler-colonial agenda, genocide, and ethnic cleansing,” said Komape.
He further characterised the rhetoric as “the ravings of an unhinged imperialist, drunk on power and complicit in the genocide of an entire group of people,” pointing out Trump's apparent lack of rationality and detachment from reality.
Komape drew parallels between the Palestinian plight and the African experience with colonialism, and said: “We have endured centuries of exploitation, dispossession, and dehumanisation at the hands of imperial powers. Today, we stand in unwavering solidarity with Palestine, recognising that their struggle is our struggle. The liberation of Palestine is inseparable from the liberation of Africa and all oppressed peoples of the world."
On Wednesday, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas rejected Trump's proposal to "take over" and "own" the Gaza Strip.
"President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership expressed their strong rejection of calls to seize the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians outside their homeland," Abbas' office said in a statement, adding that "legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable".
Reading the statement on Palestinian public television, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina stressed that the Gaza Strip "is an integral part of the State of Palestine".
The Palestine Liberation Organisation, an alliance of factions headed by Abbas, also condemned Trump's proposal to relocate Gazans to Egypt or Jordan.
It rejected "all calls for the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland", its secretary general, Hussein al-Sheikh, said.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
IOL
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