JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The foreign ministers of eight Arab and Muslim countries on Sunday issued a joint condemnation of recent statements by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Defense Minister Israel Katz calling for the departure of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
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The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan, who accused the Israeli ministers of promoting “plans and mechanisms aimed at removing Palestinians from their land.”
The ministers said such proposals violate principles of international law, including international humanitarian law, and constitute a direct threat to what they described as the rights of the Palestinian people.
The eight countries said they categorically reject any attempt to forcibly or otherwise displace Palestinians, whether from the Gaza Strip or from other parts of the “Palestinian territories.” They stressed that their opposition applies regardless of the terminology used to describe such initiatives or the justification offered for them.
The ministers warned in particular against allowing calls for Palestinian emigration to develop into official government policy or practical measures designed to remove Palestinians from Gaza. They argued that such a development would undermine international efforts to achieve a political settlement and threaten regional stability.
The statement also invoked U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace initiative, saying that the plan for ending the Gaza war includes opposition to forced displacement.
The joint statement follows particularly outspoken comments by Katz earlier this week. Speaking at a conference hosted by Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth on September 2, Katz said Israel was prepared to facilitate the departure of Palestinians from Gaza “by sea, by air and by any means” and argued that the idea remained under discussion. Katz also said that Trump had effectively frozen rather than abandoned the idea of Palestinian emigration from Gaza.
The remarks prompted a sharp response from Washington. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Saturday that there is no U.S.-backed plan to force Palestinians out of Gaza, explicitly distancing Washington from proposals for mass displacement.
The U.S. State Department had similarly told Al Jazeera that Washington does not support a plan involving the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza.
Ben-Gvir subsequently went further than Katz, presenting what has been described as a plan for the mass departure of Gaza’s Palestinian population. According to reporting on the proposal, the plan envisions encouraging approximately 250,000 Palestinians to leave during the first year, followed by the departure of the remaining population over several years. Ben-Gvir describes the process as “voluntary emigration,” while opponents argue that Palestinians living amid the devastation and insecurity of Gaza would not be making a genuinely voluntary choice.
The proposal has generated international concern and renewed debate over whether an Israeli policy aimed at encouraging large-scale departure could amount to forced displacement under international law.
The foreign ministers also reiterated their position that Gaza is an integral part of what they describe as the occupied Palestinian territory. They called for the preservation of territorial unity between Gaza, Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem, rejecting any attempt to permanently separate Gaza from the other “Palestinian territories.”
The ministers again endorsed a two-state solution, calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital. They urged the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to act against what they described as attempts to impose demographic or geographic changes on the Palestinian territories.
The eight countries also reaffirmed their support for what they called the Palestinian people’s “steadfastness” on their land and rejected measures they said were intended to eliminate the Palestinian issue or undermine Palestinian rights.
The Sunday statement is not the first time these same eight countries have issued a coordinated response to Israeli policies. The group has repeatedly acted together during 2026, particularly on Gaza and Judea and Samaria.
In August, the eight foreign ministers condemned Israel’s settlement policies and specifically rejected the E1 settlement plan east of East Jerusalem, warning that it threatened the prospects for a two-state solution. Earlier that month, they jointly condemned Israeli actions in Gaza and warned that continued fighting threatened efforts to implement Trump’s broader plan for ending the conflict.
In May, the same eight governments issued a statement sharply condemning Ben-Gvir over his treatment of participants in a Gaza-bound flotilla while they were detained by Israel. They also accused him and other Israeli officials of incitement against Palestinians.
Their latest statement therefore represents part of an increasingly coordinated diplomatic campaign by Arab and Muslim states against Israeli policies they believe could lead to permanent displacement or territorial changes.
It’s not an Israeli call, it’s the call of our holy Torah, the call of Hashem:
“But if you do not dispossess the inhabitants of the land, those whom you allow to remain shall be stings in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you upon the land in which you are dwelling.” (Bamidbar 33)
May Hashem have mercy on his Nation
Of course they do, they are afraid that they will want to come to their country!