UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for solutions to the Palestinian conflict that do not "exacerbate problems" and emphasized the need to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing, according to his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, on Wednesday (05.02.2025). This statement was made in advance of Guterres's address to the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
Dujarric, in his press briefing, addressed the plans outlined by US President Donald Trump, who had unexpectedly announced a proposal on Tuesday that would see the United States occupy the Gaza Strip after the relocation of nearly two million Palestinians. "Any forced displacement of populations amounts to ethnic cleansing," Dujarric stated, without naming Trump directly.
Guterres, who will also advocate for the two-state solution, one Israeli and one Palestinian, has been at odds with the Israeli government, particularly since he stated in the Security Council over a year ago that Hamas attacks "did not come out of the blue (but) from 56 years of suffocating occupation of the Palestinian people." He has not spoken with Trump since the latter assumed office, but did speak with King Abdullah of Jordan on Wednesday morning "about the situation in the region," according to Dujarric.
Meanwhile, the European Union has reiterated that the Gaza Strip is an "integral part of a future Palestinian state." "The EU remains firmly committed to a two-state solution, which for us is the only way to achieve a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," a spokesperson for the EU stated.