Saudi Arabia condemns new Israeli agency for displacing Palestinians from Gaza Strip

25 March, 2025 07:39

Saudi Arabia condemns new Israeli agency for displacing Palestinians from Gaza Strip

Palestinian families leave the eastern sector of the Gaza Strip on the border with Israel following Israeli airstrikes that targeted northern and other parts of Gaza in the early hours of March 18, 2025. The Israeli army urged Gazans on March 18 to evacuate areas near the border, after it unleashed a wave of deadly overnight strikes, the most intense since a ceasefire began in January. Gaza's civil defence agency said the death toll from a massive Israeli campaign launched throughout the Palestinian territory rose to more than 220 people, including children. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s recognition of illegal settlements in the Occupied West Bank and the establishment of an agency aimed at displacing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip on Monday.

The ministry said it categorically rejects Israeli violations of international and humanitarian laws in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

“(Saudi Arabia condemns) Israeli occupation authorities’ announcement of the establishment of an agency aimed at displacing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said in a statement.

Israel said it is creating a government agency to oversee the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip following approval from the Israeli security cabinet over the weekend.

Since late 2023, at least 50,000 people have been killed during the Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip, and almost 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza are now internally displaced.

Israel’s new agency will be tasked with relocating Palestinians to unspecified third countries under the supervision of the Ministry of Defence.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia also condemned the approval of 13 illegal settler outposts in the West Bank over the weekend. The Saudi ministry said that the decision was made “in preparation for their legalization as colonial settlements.”

It added that lasting peace can only be achieved if the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights and establish an independent state on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, the Saudi Press Agency reported.