Gaza: A response by BASW to recent proposals by the US President

BASW adds its voice to the widespread condemnation of the comments

The forced removal of people from territory to which they have a long- standing claim, is a major breach of national and international law. This is true, irrespective of wherever in the world this might take place.

The President of the USA has recently declared that Palestinians in Gaza should permanently leave the area and resettle in Egypt or Jordan. He has suggested armed force may be necessary to achieve this goal[i].

Some two million people currently live in Gaza.

The forced removal of people will not stop the conflict in Israel/Palestine. Rather it is likely to make it worse by further spreading and exacerbating the conflict and fuelling antisemitism and islamophobia.

The UK Government has a long-standing commitment to a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine. This is true both of the previous Conservative Government and the current Labour Government.

The UK Government has opposed the idea of forcible removal of Palestinians from Gaza.

Many nation states also have a long-standing commitment to the two-state solution. Until recently the USA was one of them. Many countries in Europe, the Middle East and further afield, have condemned the idea of forcible removal.

Many national and international humanitarian agencies have condemned the idea of forcible removal.

The Palestinian people have rejected the idea of forcible removal.

BASW adds its voice to this collective chorus of condemnation.

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[i] See for example, BBC (5th Feb 2025) Why does Trump want to take over Gaza and could he do it? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4z32y12jpo

For a related perspective see Freedland J (7 Feb 2025) Lethal fantasies of driving people from their land haunt the Middle East. Trump is fuelling them. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/07/middle-east-land-people-donald-trump-gaza