No one has power to remove Palestinians: Turkey’s Erdogan on Trump’s Gaza ‘plan’

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday condemned Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to displace Palestinians from Gaza and redevelop the territory.

“No one has the power to remove the people of Gaza from their eternal homeland that has been around for thousands of years,” he said during a press conference at Istanbul Airport before heading to Malaysia.

“Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem belong to the Palestinians.”

Trump’s plan, announced on Tuesday, has sparked widespread global condemnation.

The US president said he would redevelop the war-torn territory by removing unexploded bombs and rubble, fostering economic growth, and taking control of the Gaza Strip. However, he did not provide a clear strategy for relocating its 2 million inhabitants.

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” Trump stated.

Erdogan dismissed the plan as “worthless,” stating that proposals put forward by the US under pressure from the “Zionist leadership” are not worthy of discussion Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also called the displacement of Palestinians unacceptable and described Trump’s proposal as historically ignorant.