UPDATE - Threat of Gazan displacement is 'test of our commitment as Arabs to our vital cause': Syrian president

ADDS MORE DETAILS, BACKGGROUND

By Rania Abu Shamala and Mohammad Sio​​​​​​​

ISTANBUL (AA) - Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa condemned calls for the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homeland, calling it “a test for us as Arabs.”

“The call for the forced displacement of the Palestinian people from their land is a disgrace to humanity,” al-Sharaa said Tuesday at an emergency Arab summit in Egypt on Gaza’s reconstruction.

He warned that such calls are "not only a threat to the Palestinian people but to the entire Arab nation."

The threat of displacement of Gaza’s people is “not just a humanitarian issue; it is a test of our commitment as Arabs to our vital cause,” he added.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called to “take over” Gaza and resettle its population to develop it into a tourist destination. His plan was rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Al-Sharaa emphasized that "the uprooting of the Palestinian people from their land cannot be accepted," asserting that "the time has come for all Arabs to stand together against these schemes."

The emergency Arab summit in Cairo adopted Egypt’s reconstruction plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing its people.

Addressing Israeli attacks on Syria, Sharaa said: “Since Israel occupied the Golan Heights in 1967, it has never stopped violating our people’s rights.”

He reaffirmed Syria’s commitment to the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel but warned that “continued Israeli disregard for this agreement is unacceptable.”

The summit marks al-Sharaa’s first participation in an Arab League meeting since taking office in January, following the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, 2024 by Syrian opposition forces.

Taking advantage of Assad’s removal, Israel expanded its occupation of the Golan Heights, declared the 1974 agreement void, seized the Syrian demilitarized zone and destroyed Syrian military equipment and ammunition in hundreds of airstrikes.

Israel has occupied territory in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon for decades, refusing to withdraw or recognize an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital based on pre-1967 borders.