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SvennoJ on 05 February 2025
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UN chief says essential to avoid ethnic cleansing in Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has shared a post on social media, reaffirming his warning against ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip.

“In the search for solutions on Gaza, we must not make the problem worse,” Guterres wrote. “It is vital to stay true to the bedrock of international law. It is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing.”

Guterres made similar remarks in an address to a UN committee on the rights of Palestinians on Wednesday.

While Guterres did not mention US President Donald Trump by name, his comments come one day after Trump said the United States could “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip and suggested Palestinians could be “permanently” elsewhere.

Palestinians face ‘chilling, systematic dehumanisation and demonisation’, UN chief says

The UN chief warned against ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the dehumanisation of Palestinians as he rejected President Donald Trump’s bombshell proposal for the US to take control of the Palestinian territory and displace all its people.

“At its essence, the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people is about the right of Palestinians to simply live as human beings in their own land,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a speech to a UN committee that deals with the rights of Palestinians.

“We have seen the realisation of those rights steadily slip farther out of reach. We have seen a chilling, systematic dehumanisation and demonisation of an entire people. It is vital to stay true to the bedrock of international law. It is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing.”


Wide rejection of forceful removal of Palestinians at the UN

Within the building of the UN, it’s very clear that any forceful removal of the Palestinian people would be considered ethnic cleansing. Period. Full stop.

That’s really the view of the wide range of people within this building because the UN was founded on such things as self-determination, territorial integrity, jurisdiction – all key principles by the UN.

We also heard from the Chinese ambassador. He’s the president of the Security Council for this month.

When asked what he thought about Trump’s comments, he simply said it’s beyond comprehension, and that his country, China, would never go along with any such plan.

I think those comments there by the Chinese echoed what we’re hearing, both public and private statements, from other member states as well, sort of scratching their heads, saying there’s no way we would ever agree to this.

Also, because, quite frankly, as you heard the secretary-general say, it would be considered ethnic cleansing.


Palestine’s UN envoy says Gaza is ‘not a free land for anyone to grab’

Palestine’s ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour has addressed journalists in New York, responding to Trump’s comments on “taking over” the Gaza Strip.

“The Gaza Strip is not a free land for anyone to grab it,” Mansour said. “Those days in history are gone. Every piece of land in any country belongs to the people who live in this piece of land.”

“Therefore, you know, we are determined to stay in the Gaza Strip.”