At Cairo Peace Summit, Palestinian President Abbas warns of any attempts to displace people from Gaza

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday (Oct 21) addressed the Cairo Peace Summit and warned of any attempts to displace people from the war-torn Gaza Strip, or any attempts to displace Palestinians from their homes or displacing them from Jerusalem or the West Bank. "...we will not accept displacement, and we will remain steadfast on our land no matter the challenges," President Abbas said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will not leave, we will not leave, we will not leave, and we will remain on our land," he added.

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Leaders and top officials from more than a dozen countries including the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Qatar, South Africa, and Italy are taking part in the Cairo Peace Summit to discuss ways to de-escalate the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Displacement of Palestinians should be a war crime: Jordan

Jordan's King Abdullah, who was a part of the summit, said in his opening speech that the forced or internal displacement of Palestinians would be a war crime.

“All civilian lives matter. My friends, I’m outraged and grieved by those acts of violence waged against innocent civilians in Gaza, in the West Bank and in Israel. The relentless bombing campaign underway in Gaza, as we speak, is cruel and unconscionable on every level. It is collective punishment on a besieged and helpless people, it is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, it is a war crime. Yet, the deeper the crisis cuts of cruelty, the less the world seems to care," King Abdullah said.

He added that the top priorities were an immediate end to the war in Gaza, the protection of civilians, the adoption of a unified position that indiscriminately condemns the targeting of all civilians, sustained and uninterrupted delivery of human aid, fuel, and medicines to the Gaza Strip, and the unequivocal rejection of the forced displacement or internal displacement of the Palestinians.

Joint statement on war unlikely

The Cairo Peace Summit has been looking into ways to head off a wider regional war. However, a report by the news agency Reuters citing three diplomats said it was unlikely there would be a joint statement because of sensitivities around any calls for a ceasefire, and whether to include mention of Hamas's attack and Israel's right to defend itself.

The Summit coincides with continuing Israeli preparations for a ground assault on Gaza.

In his speech Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his country opposed what he called the displacement of Palestinians into Egypt's largely desert Sinai region.

"Egypt says the solution to the Palestinian issue is not displacement, its only solution is justice and the Palestinians’ access to legitimate rights and living in an independent state," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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