THE UK Government has been urged to condemn comments made by Donald Trump as he endorsed the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians saying the US would “take over” Gaza and “own it”.
The US President held a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu where he said he would support resettling Palestinians “permanently”.
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 also said that “the only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative”.
The US President's shock comments have been widely criticised with Labour MP Zarah Sultana saying, “this is ethnic cleansing, plain and simple”.
In a post on social media, the MP for Coventry South also questioned if the UK Government would condemn Trump’s comments.
She said: “This is ethnic cleansing, plain and simple. “But will the UK government condemn this?
Sultana wasn’t the only Labour MP to call on Keir Starmer to call out Trump’s comments as Richard Burgon said: “While sitting alongside Israeli PM Netanyahu, [Trump] has now suggested removing all 1.7 million Palestinians from Gaza and relocating them elsewhere.”
He added: “Forced displacement is a war crime.
“This must be called out for what it would be: ethnic cleansing.”
Deputy Leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, also called on Starmer to “do the right thing” and condemn Trump’s comments.
Polanski said: “Keir Starmer has been a disaster turning away as thousands of innocent people have been brutally killed.”
He added that Starmer has “sunk so low” and that it feels “inevitable he won't” say anything about Trump’s occupation of Gaza proposal.
During the press conference Trump 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.”
The socialist and anti-racist campaign group Momentum also condemned Trump’s comments as they said: “Trump’s plan for a hostile takeover of Gaza is a blueprint for ethnic cleansing. Plain and simple.
“Leaders around the world, including Keir Starmer, must unequivocally condemn this.”
The UK Government has been approached for comment.
