Dozens of Palestinians in Gaza took to the streets in anger on Thursday, protesting US president Donald Trump’s “criminal hellish plan,” to expel them from the strip.
Sheltered in a tent camp in the central town of Deir al-Balah, they expressed shock and defiance at the idea of being permanently resettled outside Gaza.
“We spent a year-and-a-half under war, we will not accept the idea of leaving. Those who leave their own countries suffer unspeakably. We will not leave or flee our country,” Mohammed told Euronews.
“Of course there will be people who will flee, those who have no homes and such, people like that will leave, but of course the vast majority will not flee. On my side, I will not leave,” he insisted.
The protest was organized by the Democratic Reform Movement – a dissident group from Fatah led by former Fatah leader Mohamed Dahlan.
Emad Mohsen, one of the group’s members, told reporters the protest to reject Trump’s “criminal hellish plan” was a way to confirm that Palestinians will stay in Gaza.
“[We are] confirming our determination to stay on this land and our steadfastness in defending our national cause to achieve our people’s dream of liberation and independence,” he added.
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Fatma Abu Shawish, another group member and protester, asked the international community for support.
“We hope that all nations stand with us and help us to avoid displacement. This is our land and our home. We’ve lived on it. This is our grandparents’ home,” she said.
People carried signs that read “the land is ours, Gaza is ours, Palestine is ours from long ago and forever.”
Other large posters read “the occupier should carry their stick and leave our land” and “we’ll build Gaza and reconstruct it and bring life back to it with our own help, will, and determination.”
US President Donald Trump proposed taking ownership of the Gaza Strip and redeveloping it after saying earlier that Palestinians should move out of the region. “The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” Trump said on Tuesday during a joint conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel’s leader responded to Trump’s plans for Gaza’s future, saying the idea is “worth paying attention to.”
The US president has previously said that neighbouring nations could take in displaced Palestinians from Gaza – a proposal that was rejected by Arab nations.
