\n<\/p>\n
Egypt and Qatar have expressed strong condemnation over remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the displacement of Palestinians, including through the Rafah crossing.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Friday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the comments as part of \u201congoing attempts to prolong escalation in the region and perpetuate instability while avoiding accountability for Israeli violations in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n
In an interview with the Israeli Telegram channel Abu Ali Express, Netanyahu claimed there were \u201cdifferent plans for how to rebuild Gaza\u201d and alleged that \u201chalf of the population wants to leave Gaza\u201d, claiming it was \u201cnot a mass expulsion\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can open Rafah for them, but it will be closed immediately by Egypt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Egypt\u2019s Foreign Ministry reiterated its \u201ccategorical rejection of forcibly or coercively displacing Palestinians from their land\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Egypt] stresses that these practices represent a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes that cannot be tolerated,\u201d the ministry added.<\/p>\n
The statement affirmed that Egypt will never be complicit in such practices nor act as a conduit for Palestinian displacement, describing this as a \u201cred line\u201d that cannot be crossed.<\/p>\n
Qatar\u2019s Foreign Ministry also fiercely criticised Netanyahu\u2019s remarks, calling them an \u201cextension of the occupation\u2019s approach to violating the rights of the brotherly Palestinian people\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe policy of collective punishment practised by the occupation against the Palestinians \u2026 will not succeed in forcing the Palestinian people to leave their land or in confiscating their legitimate rights,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n
It stressed the need for the international community to \u201cunite with determination to confront the extremist and provocative policies of the Israeli occupation, in order to prevent the continuation of the cycle of violence in the region and its spread to the world\u201d.<\/p>\n
The war of words comes as Egypt and Qatar continue to lead mediation efforts<\/span> between Hamas and Israel, seeking to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the coastal enclave.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera\u2019s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, said Netanyahu\u2019s comments were \u201cincredibly controversial\u201d since it\u2019s the Israeli government which has outlined that \u201cit wants the Palestinians out of Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe condemnation from both Qatar and Egypt is essentially telling Israel this is all a part of its larger plan, that Israel is the one that waged war on the Gaza Strip, that the continuation of crimes against the Palestinian people and the total closure of the Rafah border crossing is the reason why they\u2019re imprisoned in Gaza, not because of anything else,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is Israel that single-handedly created this policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n