JAKARTA - Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama has denied reports by Israeli media claiming that his government is in discussions with the US about the possibility of receiving up to 100,000 Palestinians from Gaza.
"It's been a long time since I've heard such fake news - and lately there's been a lot of fake news! That's absolutely not true," Rama wrote in X quoted from Anadolu-OANA via Antara, Tuesday, January 28.
The Albaniaan leader expressed "complete respect and solidarity to the Gazan people, who have been humiliated by the cruel Hamas regime and have suffered from the terrible war amid the second year of genocide in Gaza," he said.
However, he stressed that Albania was not asked by anyone to accept refugees, and was "not even considering the possibility of taking over such responsibility."
Rama highlighted Albania's "close friendship" with Israel, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and "Palestinian people, whose country has been recognized by Albania for a long time."
He asserted that Albania, as a European country, is not located in the Middle East, and cannot do more than other European countries in that regard.
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"However, we hope and pray that the Palestinian people are given the opportunity to live in their own country, as free people under democratic rule, and that Hamas will never again be able to hurt Israel -- or, especially, the Palestinian people themselves," he said.
Earlier, Israeli media reported that Israel views US President Donald Trump's proposal that Jordan and Egypt accept Palestinian refugees as unrealistic, prompting Washington to explore other options, including Albania.
The report comes amid growing international pressure to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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