[Press Conference] To condemn Trump’s plans for the occupation of the Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip is Palestinian Land!
We condemn Trump’s plans for occupation and forced displacement!

On February 4th, US President Donald Trump said that the US would “take over and “own” the Gaza Strip. Trump called the Gaza Strip a very “unlucky” place for Palestinians, claiming that they need to be “resettled”. This is a public declaration of support for Israel’s ethnic cleansing as well as the US’ intention to commit crimes against humanity. The US has no right whatsoever to “own” the Gaza Strip. Trump’s absurd and dangerous claims that Palestinians will be temporarily or permanently deported from Gaza will not be realized. All he has managed to do with his proposed “solution” is to stoke opposition among Middle Eastern countries and incite further chaos across the entire Middle Eastern region. We strongly condemn President Trump, and his collusion with Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing, which threatens not only Palestine but also global peace and the international order. We urge the international community to hold Israel and the US accountable for their crimes against humanity, and to seek appropriate measures against them.  

The US has given Israel their full support, colluding with their genocide by supplying them with a massive amount of weapons. Additionally, they have repeatedly voted against or abstained from UN resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire. Over the last 15 months, US weapons have blasted the Gaza Strip into smithereens, leading to the death of over 60,000 Palestinians. And now Trump claims that the Gaza Strip, reduced to rubble by US weapons, is “unlivable” and a “demolition site”, claiming that Palestinians will be permanently displaced from Gaza and that the US will develop the Gaza Strip. This is a crime against humanity that completes the aims of the Second Nabka that Israel is carrying out on Palestinian land.  

Trump’s full support of Israel and collusion with war crimes does not end here. On the 3rd, Trump described Israel as a “small country” and expressed support for Israel’s plans to occupy the West Bank. On the 4th, he claimed that the UNHRC was biased against Israel, claiming that it had “passed more resolutions condemning Israel, than Syria, Iran, and North Korea combined”. He has acknowledged Israel’s unfounded claim that the majority of UNRWA’s employees are Hamas fighters, and signed executive orders withdrawing from both bodies. He also invited Israeli prime minister Netanyahu to the White House, despite the ICC’s arrest warrant against him, showing outright support for and complicity with Israel’s war crimes.     

The Gaza Strip is Palestinian land. A Second Nabka cannot occur. Peace in Palestine and the Middle East can only be achieved through Israel’s illegal occupation coming to an end. The only thing the US can do for peace in Palestine is to pressure Israel to end its illegal occupation as soon as possible. The international community must not accept the US and Israel’s ethnic cleansing. In order to ensure Trump’s violent and reckless statements do not become reality, we will stand and act in solidarity with the Palestinian people until the very end. 

February 6th, 2025
Urgent Action by South Korean Civil Society in Solidarity with Palestine