Arab countries reject Trump's relocation plan

Major Arab nations and Arab League representatives on Saturday rejected US President Donald Trump's suggestion to relocate Palestinians from their land to Egypt and Jordan, days before Trump's scheduled meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the second phase of the cease-fire in Gaza.

"We affirm our rejection" to compromising Palestinians' unalienable rights, whether through settlement activities, evictions, annexation of land or vacating the land from its owners "in any form or under any circumstances or justifications", Arab foreign ministers said in a joint statement.

On Jan 25, Trump floated the controversial "clear-out" plan to displace Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, calling Gaza a "demolition site" after 15 months of Israeli bombardment that left most of its 2.3 million people homeless, more than 47,000 people dead and 110,000 others injured.

The Arab statement warned that such plans "threaten the region's stability, risk expanding the conflict and undermine prospects for peace among its peoples".

It followed a meeting in Cairo of top diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official who serves as the main liaison with Israel, and Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

Participants called for the international community to help "plan and implement" a comprehensive reconstruction plan to ensure that Palestinians stay on their land, saying they would work with the Trump administration to "achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on the two-state solution".

'Can't be tolerated'

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has rejected Trump's suggestion, saying the transfer of Palestinians "can't be tolerated or allowed".

"The solution to this issue is the two-state solution. The solution is not to remove the Palestinian people from their place. No," he said.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said his country's opposition to Trump's idea is "firm and unwavering".

In Gaza, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the claims about "displacing Gazans under the pretext of rebuilding it reflect a persistent US complicity in the crime", warning that the US plans would only "fuel further chaos and tension in the region".

In another development, Netanyahu will begin talks on the second phase of the Gaza cease-fire in Washington on Monday, his office said hours after the completion of the fourth hostage-prisoner exchange of the truce.

Netanyahu spoke with Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday and agreed that negotiations would "begin when they meet in Washington".

A date for formal talks involving mediators and delegations from Hamas and Israel has not been set, with the 42-day first phase due to end next month.

The second phase is expected to cover the release of the remaining captives and to include discussions on a more permanent end to the conflict, something several members of Netanyahu's government oppose.

As part of the first phase, Hamas on Saturday freed three Israeli hostages in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli custody.

Netanyahu said on Sunday that he will discuss "victory over Hamas", countering Iran and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries in his meeting with Trump.

Tuesday's meeting at the White House will be Trump's first with a foreign leader since returning to office last month.

Netanyahu, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, had strained relations with Trump's predecessor Joe Biden and has not visited the White House since returning to office at the end of 2022.

Meanwhile, a large-scale Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank continues for the third week.

A 16-year-old Palestinian boy was among five killed on Saturday in Israeli raids on Jenin, the Palestinian authorities said.

The Israeli military began raiding the city in northern West Bank on Jan 21, just two days after the cease-fire in Gaza came into effect.

Asked whether a teenage boy had been killed in an airstrike, the Israeli military said the air force had struck "armed terrorists" in the Jenin area, declining further comment.

In Jenin, dozens of houses have been demolished and some roads have been dug up by armored Israeli bulldozers, driving thousands from their homes.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.