ICJP writes letters to Foreign Office asking for clear responses to Trump policy, including ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ ethnic cleansing comments
5th February 2025– Today, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians has sent a letter to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office asking for clarity on a number of public statements and policy points introduced by the Trump Administration in the United States (U.S.).
The letters highlight the following policy points:
– Public comments on permanent displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, including political pressure on Egypt and Jordan.
– Plans to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC).
– Lifting of sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements.
– Withdrawal of all foreign aid funding, including for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), but excluding Israel and Ukraine.
Since Trump entered office, he has implemented and spoken about implementing several policies that would undermine international law through the erosion of Palestinian people’s self-determination, impunity for illegal Israeli settlers and Israeli politicians with ICC arrest warrants, and hampering humanitarian aid operations. These policies will have a major destabilising effect and undermine Palestinian people’s rights.
Following the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a visit to the U.S. on the 4th February 2025, President Trump’s rhetoric escalated even further, when he said: “The US will take over the Gaza strip, we’ll own it.” Asked about deploying US troops to fill a potential security vacuum, the president replied: “We’ll do what is necessary.” He also said Palestinians from Gaza should move to an ‘area to resettle people, permanently’, rather than return to Gaza.
This latest outburst is a clear and unequivocal call for the permanent displacement of the Palestinian people from Gaza, as well as a call for occupation and possible annexation.
In response, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “they must be allowed home, they must be allowed to rebuild” but failed to condemn Trump’s remarks. Meanwhile, Environment Secretary Steve Reed praised Trump for his perceived role in obtaining a ceasefire and said that the UK Government would not provide a ‘running commentary’ on Trump’s remarks.
This soft, diplomatic approach is wholly inappropriate in the face of incendiary remarks that call for the dispossession of millions of people from their lands. We demand that the UK both condemns these remarks and takes concrete steps to devise an action plan that would aim to counter these policy measures and to protect the rights of Palestinians.
Senior Public Affairs Officer Jonathan Purcell said:
“The UK Government’s refusal to provide a ‘running commentary’ on Trump’s ethnic cleansing remarks is a cop-out, a total shirking of responsibility. It is simply not enough to utter platitudes on Palestinians’ right to return when forced, rather than proactively make a bold statement condemning Trump’s comments at this critical time.
As for Trump, he is ‘saying the quiet bit out loud’. We know the US’s longstanding role in undermining the self-determination of the Palestinian people, but never has it so directly, so brazenly, been articulated. It flies in the face of the international-rules based order and must be opposed by all countries that wish to be taken seriously on international law.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
1. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.
2. The full letter is available to read here.
3. Sky News. (5th February 2024) Shock as Trump says US will make Gaza ‘Riviera of the Middle East’.
4. Andy Hayes and Claire Gilbody Dickerson. (5th February 2025) Trump says US will take over Gaza and all Palestinians should relocate. Sky News.
5. For more information, to receive a full ‘legal corrector’ on this issue, or to arrange an interview with an ICJP spokesperson, please contact the ICJP news desk at press@icjpalestine.com.