The foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates said in a joint statement that they reject “any attempt to displace the Palestinian people from their land.” They also say they are opposed to “forcing any resident of the Gaza Strip to leave.”
The ministers instead want the Rafah crossing to be opened in both directions.
Israel announced on Wednesday that Palestinians would be able to travel out via Rafah in the coming days. Egypt shortly after denied that such an agreement had been reached, stating that a settlement would require travel in both directions.
The UN and humanitarian organizations have long called for the border to be opened. It is also something dictated by the US peace plan for Gaza. But since the ceasefire took effect in October, Israel has postponed the opening, citing the slowness of Hamas, which is labeled a terrorist organization, to return all dead hostages and the need for coordination with Egypt.
