Cairo, Feb 1 (IANS): Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the Arab League (AL) stressed in a joint statement on Saturday the rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
The statement was issued after a meeting in Egypt's capital Cairo attended by top diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, as well as high-ranking officials from the PA and AL.
Participants of the meeting expressed their commitment to working with US President Donald Trump's administration "to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on the two-state solution," according to the statement.
They also voiced full support for the Palestinians and their legitimate rights, rejecting any attempt to displace the Palestinian people, whether by eviction or efforts to transfer or remove them from their land under any circumstances.
The statement also urged the international community to coordinate efforts for planning and implementing a comprehensive process for the reconstruction of Gaza to improve the Palestinians' daily lives and address the problem of internal displacement, Xinhua news agency reported.
On January 25, Trump proposed a controversial plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, which was strongly rejected by both countries.
On Friday, thousands of people gathered near the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, the only channel linking Egypt with Gaza, to express opposition to the displacement of Palestinians.
Earlier this week, the Arab League (AL) had reaffirmed that stability and peace in the Middle East will only be achieved after settling the Palestinian cause and implementing the two-state solution.
The AL said that "any attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land, either through deportation, annexation or settlement expansion," have proved to be failures and are rejected as a violation of international law.
The pan-Arab group stressed that the current stage requires continuous work by all to consolidate the Gaza truce and ensure its continuation in preparation for the immediate start of rebuilding Gaza after a 15-month brutal war.