Spanish Foreign Minister Responds To Trump's Proposal: Gazans Must Stay In Gaza Part Of The State Of Palestine

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares (leftmost) met the interim Syrian leader, as well as the rebel boss who contributed to the Assad regime, Abu Mohammed al-Golani or Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus. (X @jmalbares)

JAKARTA - Spanish Foreign Minister (Menlu) Jose Manuel Albares rejected the proposal of the President of the United States (US) Donald Trump against Palestinians to relocate from the Gaza Strip to a number of neighboring countries.

"Our position is clear: Gazans must remain in Gaza. Gaza is part of a future Palestinian state that must be managed by a single government," said Foreign Minister Jose while speaking in Brussels, Belgium, Monday, January 27, quoted from Anadolu.

"As soon as possible, Gaza and the West Bank must be under the control of one Palestinian national authority," he continued.

On Saturday, January 25, Trump told reporters he had spoken to the Jordanian King about the possibility of hosting 1.5 million Palestinians from Gaza.

"Almost everything is destroyed, and people are dying there, so I prefer to work with some Arab countries to build housing in other locations, where I think they might be able to live peacefully," Trump said on the plane flight. Air Force One, according to CNN.

Albares emphasized that the European Union should be more focused on immediately assisting "humanitarian disasters" in Gaza by providing assistance for food, health, and education needs, as well as ensuring the existence of the United Nations Aid and Work Institute for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

He said Spain would request an EU emergency mission to be deployed at the Rafah border to help normalize the border between Gaza and Egypt.

He also offered the Spanish Civil Police Force (Civil Guard) to participate in the mission.

Spain pledged to increase financial assistance for Palestine and UNRWA to 50 million euros (approximately 52 million US dollars or around Rp. 840.8 billion).

"We have great hopes for Gaza, the ceasefire (currently) is not permanent, but we need to work to make it happen," said Albares.

Speaking to reporters, he also condemned Israel's attack on Lebanese civilians on Sunday, January 26, calling it "unacceptable."

"Twenty-two civilians killed were too many. All points in this ceasefire must be obeyed. Lebanese armed forces must be deployed in the south, and Israeli forces must step down to ensure the country's sovereignty," he added.

Albares also urged the European Union to increase its assistance to Lebanon to help rebuild the country and strengthen the armed forces.