GENEVA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing said that the idea of mass deportation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip is “just a fantasy,” warning that such an action would be “one of the greatest violations of international law in recent centuries.”
This was said in an interview by Balakrishnan Rajagopal with Anadolu Agency, on the sidelines of his participation in the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, which began on February 24 and will continue until April 4.
Speaking about the US plan to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, the UN rapporteur remarked that this idea remains “just a fantasy,” and asserted, “This will never happen, and if it does, it will be one of the greatest violations of international law in recent centuries.” He described the plan as “illusions,” adding, “These illusions have been rejected by all countries that seek to respect the minimum laws and international regulations.”
Rajagopal noted that this scenario would exacerbate the suffering of Palestinians, who have already endured decades of Israeli occupation, beginning with the Nakba in 1948, through ongoing apartheid policies, and culminating in the genocide in Gaza.
He emphasized that the mass deportation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip “cannot be imposed even by the strongest countries in the world.”
Since January 25, US President Donald Trump has been promoting a plan to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to neighboring countries such as Egypt and Jordan, which both countries have rejected. Other Arab countries, as well as regional and international organizations, have joined this rejection.
In response to the Arab plan for the reconstruction of Gaza without displacing Palestinians, the UN rapporteur welcomed the adoption of the emergency Arab summit statement regarding Palestine in Cairo, which included a plan in its final statement last Tuesday.
Rajagopal stressed the importance of ensuring full Palestinian participation in all reconstruction plans. The summit endorsed a five-year reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip without displacing Palestinians, with an estimated cost of $53 billion. However, both Israel and the United States announced their rejection of the plan, insisting on Trump’s proposal.
Rajagopal said, “Palestinians must be responsible for rebuilding their lives themselves, as this is an essential part of their right to self-determination, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip cannot be executed solely by external parties, even if they have good intentions.”
