United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told President Donald Trump on Wednesday to avoid ethnic cleansing in Gaza after the U.S. leader proposed Palestinians be expelled and the United States take over the war-torn enclave.
“In the search for solutions, we must not make the problem worse. It is vital to stay true to the bedrock of international law. It is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing,” Guterres told a previously planned meeting of a U.N. committee.
“We must reaffirm the two-state solution,” he said.
While Guterres did not mention Trump or his Gaza proposal during his address to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters earlier that it would be a “fair assumption” to view Guterres’ remarks as a response.
Earlier on Wednesday Guterres also spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah about the situation in the region, said Dujarric.
The United Nations has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory illegally occupied by Israel since 1967.
“Any durable peace will require tangible, irreversible and permanent progress toward the two-state solution, an end to the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with Gaza as an integral part,” Guterres said.
“A viable, sovereign Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel is the only sustainable solution for Middle East stability,” he said.
Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005. The territory has been ruled by Hamas since 2007 but is still considered to be under Israeli occupation by the United Nations. Israel and Egypt control access.
