Riyad Mansour: Despite Gaza Being Destroyed, Palestinian People Choose To Return There

JAKARTA - The Palestinian people chose to return to the Gaza Strip even though the territory was destroyed, insisting the desire must be respected by all parties, Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour said.

That was said by the Ambassador of Mansour, following the statement by US President Donald Trump regarding the permanent transfer of Gazans because the region had been destroyed by war.

"Our homeland is our homeland, if part of our homeland is destroyed, the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian people choose to return there," he said, quoted by The Times of Israel on February 5.

"And I think international leaders and society should respect the wishes of the Palestinian people," he stressed.

Earlier, President Trump said the permanent transfer of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip which was destroyed by the war was upon receiving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit.

He said Palestinians in the enclave had no choice but to leave the area which had to be rebuilt after nearly 16 months of war.

"That is the location of the demolition," President Trump said before meeting PM Netanyahu.

"If we can find the right piece of land, or a lot of land, and build a very good place for them with a lot of money in the area, that's for sure. I think it would be much better than returning to Gaza," he explained.

"I don't know how they (Palestinians) can stay," President Trump replied when asked about the reaction of Palestinian and Arab leaders to his proposal.

With Netanyahu beside him in the Oval Room, Trump then made a similar statement, suggesting that Palestinians leave Gaza forever "in a nice home and where they can be happy and not be shot, not killed."

"They won't want to return to Gaza," he said.

However, President Trump told PM Netanyahu he did not want Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.

The construction of Israeli settlements in Gaza was echoed by far-right coalition partners of the Prime Minister Netanyahu Administration.

It is known that a number of human rights defenders have likened President Trump's idea to ethnic cleansing.

The forced expulsion of Gaza's population is likely to be a violation of international law and will be strongly opposed not only in the region, but also by Washington's allies in the West.

In a press statement last Saturday, the ruling Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza condemned the permanent transfer of Palestinians from the enclave.

Senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said "the plan to move Palestinians from Gaza is unreasonable and meaningless," he was quoted as saying by Middle East Monitor.

He stressed, "what Israel's occupation of violence failed to achieve, will not be achieved through political maneuvers."

Calling the plan a "recept for further chaos and tension in the region", Abu Zuhri said "the US repeated announcement of the relocation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip under the pretext of reconstruction reflects the continued involvement in the crime."