Palestinians “must be allowed home”, Sir Keir Starmer has said, after Donald Trump suggested the US could take ownership of the Gaza Strip.
The Prime Minister told the Commons that Palestinians “must be allowed to rebuild and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution”.
His comments come after the US president suggested they could create the “Riviera of the Middle East” and said he does not “think people should be going back” to Gaza.
Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said: “I have from the last few weeks, two images fixed in my mind: the first is the image of Emily Damari reunited with her mother, which I found extremely moving.
“The second was the image of thousands of Palestinians walking – literally walking – through the rubble to try to find their homes and their communities in Gaza.
“They must be allowed home. They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution.”
Sir Keir was responding to a question from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey who had said that “many of us were alarmed to hear President Trump speak about forcibly displacing 1.8 million people from Gaza”.
Sir Ed asked for reassurance that the “concerns on these dangerous statements from the president will be communicated to the White House directly and firmly”.
Downing Street has said the UK will “speak to President Trump and his team about all of his proposals” when asked if the Prime Minister believed the US leader’s suggestions could form part of the process of rebuilding Gaza.
Number 10 also rejected the idea that Mr Trump’s remarks could jeopardise the ceasefire deal in the Middle East, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesman telling journalists “we will obviously continue to support the implementation of that”.
However, officials refused to be drawn on whether the UK Government’s support for a two-state solution in the Middle East was incompatible with Mr Trump’s remarks, as the spokesman said: “We will work with President Trump and his team on a wide range of issues, including the Middle East.”
Overnight, Mr Trump suggested he does not “think people should be going back” to Gaza.
“You can’t live in Gaza right now,” he said. “I think we need another location. I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy.”
He also suggested the US could take ownership of the Gaza Strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” in which the “world’s people” – including Palestinians – could live.
“We’ll make sure that it’s done world class,” Mr Trump said. “It’ll be wonderful for the people – Palestinians, Palestinians mostly, we’re talking about.”
He made the comments as he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, where the two leaders discussed the conflict.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy had earlier said that “we must see Palestinians able to live and prosper in their homelands”.
Mr Lammy was asked about Mr Trump’s remarks during a visit to Kyiv in Ukraine on Wednesday, and said: “We’ve always been clear in our belief that we must see two states. We must see Palestinians able to live and prosper in their homelands in Gaza, in the West Bank. That is what we want to get to.”
The Cabinet minister said it is “important” to move on to the following stages of the ceasefire deal and then reconstructing Gaza, adding: “We will play our part in that.”
Mohammed Ghalayini, a scientist from Gaza City living in Manchester, said Mr Trump’s suggestion is “very scary”.
“If the last 15 months have shown us anything, it’s that the regard for international law is at an all-time low and this suggestion that the US would occupy and take over Gaza for Israel’s benefit, ultimately, is just another demonstration of that,” Mr Ghalayini told the PA news agency.
“It’s very scary. My friends, family and community in Palestine who are there now are facing a horrific situation.”
