Munich Security Conference chief criticizes Trump's Gaza relocation plan

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - The Munich Security Conference chief criticized US President Donald Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, characterizing the plan as a violation of international law.

“This proposal made by Trump has been rejected by everybody in the region, and so I don't see how this can fly if both the Jordanians and the Egyptians are against it,” Ambassador Christoph Heusgen told a group of international journalists in Berlin.

“They say Gaza is the home of the Palestinians, and they want to stay there, and they have every right to stay there, because this is according to international law,” Heusgen said, in response to a question by Anadolu reporter.

He pointed out that Gaza should be part of a future Palestinian state, through a diplomatic settlement. "This is where the borders are according to the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and I think this is something that one should in any case also insist on," he said.

US President Trump made his controversial proposal on Saturday, suggesting it was time to "clean out" the besieged Gaza Strip and relocate Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt. Israel’s genocidal war on the territory since October 2023 has resulted in more than 47,000 Palestinian deaths and left the blockaded enclave devastated.

The Middle East developments will be a central focus at this year's Munich Security Conference, scheduled for February 14–16, where world leaders, top ministers, and senior officials will convene to discuss pressing security challenges and seek diplomatic solutions to ongoing conflicts.

Christoph Heusgen has served as chairman of the Munich Security Conference since 2022. Previously, he was former Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief security and foreign policy adviser from 2005 to 2017, before serving as Germany's ambassador to the UN from 2017 to 2021.