United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged President Donald Trump on Wednesday to refrain from actions that could lead to ethnic cleansing in Gaza after Trump suggested that Palestinians relocate elsewhere and that the United States assume control of the war-ravaged territory.
“In seeking solutions, we must not exacerbate the problem. It is crucial to uphold the foundations of international law and to prevent any form of ethnic cleansing,” Guterres said during a previously scheduled meeting of a UN committee.
He emphasized the importance of a two-state solution, stating, “We must reaffirm the two-state solution.”
Although Guterres did not explicitly reference Trump or his proposal in his address to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, later told reporters that it would be a “fair assumption” to interpret his remarks as a response.
Earlier that day, Guterres had spoken with Jordan’s King Abdullah about the regional situation, according to Dujarric.
Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour, representing the Palestinian Authority, informed the committee that King Abdullah would deliver a unified message from Arab states to Trump during his upcoming visit to Washington.
“We have no homeland but Palestine. Gaza is an essential part of it. We are not leaving Gaza,” Mansour stated. “No force on earth can remove the Palestinian people from their ancestral homeland, including Gaza.”
He continued, “We want to rebuild. We want to restore our land. And we urge all nations to support us in this mission. We are not seeking other homelands or alternative countries.”
The United Nations has long supported the vision of two states coexisting within secure and internationally recognized borders. Palestinians seek an independent state comprising the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip—territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war.
“Any lasting peace requires tangible, irreversible progress toward a two-state solution, an end to the occupation, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with Gaza as an integral part,” Guterres stated.
He reaffirmed, “A viable, sovereign Palestinian state, coexisting in peace and security with Israel, is the only sustainable path to stability in the Middle East.”
Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but the United Nations still considers the territory under Israeli occupation. Hamas has governed Gaza since 2007, while Israel and Egypt control its borders.
The ongoing war, triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, has left much of Gaza in ruins. A ceasefire agreement and a hostage-release deal with Hamas took effect on January 19.
