SCOTLAND’S First Minister John Swinney has condemned Donald Trump's “unacceptable and dangerous” plans for ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
The US President told a joint press conference held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “the only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative”.
He added that Gaza could become the “Riviera of the Middle East” while refusing to rule out sending US troops to occupy the territory.
Trump said he would support resettling Palestinians “permanently” and refused to answer questions from journalists on how and under what authority the US can occupy Gaza.
In a post on social media Swinney said: “After months of collective punishment and the death of over 40,000 in Gaza, any suggestion Palestinians should be removed from their home is unacceptable and dangerous.
“There must be no ethnic cleansing.
“Only a proper two state solution will bring lasting peace.”
Trump has claimed that Palestinians could live in “peace and harmony” elsewhere.
He called for the permanent resettlement of the two million Palestinians who live in Gaza to neighbouring countries on Tuesday evening.
Trump has previously called for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Palestinians from Gaza.
However, leaders from the neighbouring countries have already rejected this proposal.
The US president also said: “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,
“If it’s necessary, we’ll do that, we’re going to take over that piece, we’re going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it’ll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of.”
Trump said he would support resettling Palestinians “permanently” but did not go into further details on how a resettlement process could be implemented.
The First Minister was not alone in his condemnation of Trump’s comments as the US President has been internationally criticised for his proposed plans for Gaza.
Among those to call out the US president's comments was former first minister Humza Yousaf (above) who was strongly critical of Trump's remarks.
Yousaf, whose parents-in-law were trapped in Gaza for a number of weeks in 2023 during Israel's assault, said: “What Trump calls ‘permanent resettlement’ is what the rest of the world should call ethnic cleansing.”
He added: “Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza. Period.”
Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater said that all governments must “stand up against Trump” and his ethnic cleansing proposals for Gaza.
She added that the Scottish Greens have long-called for a full UK arms embargo against Israel and opposed friendly relations with the US President.
“Donald Trump’s proposals are horrific and would amount to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians,” Slater (below) said.
She added: “The last 15 months have inflicted so much death and destruction which has been armed, supported and fuelled by governments around the world including the UK.
“Those arms sales should never have happened in the first place and must not continue for a day longer.
“It emphasises why we should never cozy-up to or support a man like Donald Trump, who has shown a total contempt for human rights and the lives of Palestinians, and who will only make a catastrophic situation even worse.
“There is a responsibility on all governments to condemn these awful plans, stand up to them and do all we can to halt them and to help in building a long-term and sustainable peace.”
