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PSC condemns in the strongest possible terms US President Donald Trump’s plans for the mass ethnic cleansing of 2.3 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. In a press conference accompanied by Benjamin Netanyahu – a fugitive from the International Criminal Court  – Trump has said that “the US will take over the Gaza Strip” and “own it”, refusing to rule out sending US troops to occupy the territory.  

Trump’s proposal is a blueprint for a crime of historic proportions, a programme of mass ethnic cleansing in defiance of international law and the inalienable rights of an entire people. The plan is, however, not new. It echoes plans we know have been discussed by Israeli officials for many decades. Israel’s Ministry of Intelligence drew up a plan for the forcible expulsion of Gaza’s residents to Egypt in October 2023.  

Simultaneously, Israel’s extreme right-wing government has also been making clear its plans to illegally claim sovereignty over all of the West Bank, completing the project of colonising all of historic Palestine and offering the Palestinians living here a choice – remain as people with no rights or be forcibly expelled. Donald Trump has indicated he is in support these proposals .   

For more than a year, Israel and its supporters have denied that the true aim of the genocidal assault on Gaza has been the destruction of the Palestinian population, and denial of all of their rights including the right to self-determination. Backed and supported by the USA for its own imperial interests, that objective has now been made explicit. 

70% of Palestinians in Gaza are already refugees, driven by Israel from elsewhere in historic Palestine in previous rounds of ethnic cleansing. The situation for the population remains dire after 16 months of genocide, with 92% of housing damaged or destroyed, and severe shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine. 

Israel is planning to enforce a ban on UNRWA’s operations, the organisation delivering the bulk of the aid in Gaza. UNRWA is the only body with the mandate and ability to deliver aid and essential services to Palestinian refugees in occupied Palestine and neighbouring countries, and uphold their fundamental rights, including their legally enshrined right of return. 

In the illegally occupied West Bank, Israel is escalating its attacks, including large-scale invasions of Palestinian refugee camps. In the past 2 weeks, at least 25 Palestinians have been killed in Jenin, while over 100 homes have been destroyed, and over 30,000 displaced. In Tulkarem, Israeli forces have caused large-scale destruction, and displaced at least 6,000 residents. These attacks are part of a coordinated Israeli military operation underway since  January, with at least 70 Palestinians killed in the West Bank in 2025 alone.  

As they have done for over 76 years, the Palestinian people will resist all attempts to force them from their homes and land. In Britain, we must escalate our solidarity, including by building for the upcoming national demonstration on Saturday 15 February, marching from Whitehall to the US Embassy. This is the moment where the choice is stark and clear. You either support a policy of endorsing all actions of the US and its key ally Israel and treat the Palestinian people as lesser beings with no rights, or you stand for the implementation of International Law and respect for rights and principles of justice.  All of those who reject the racist authoritarian world view of Trump and Netanyahu and all  their far right allies across the globe need to be marching on 15 February. 

This is now a clear litmus test for Keir Starmer’s government. History will judge how it responds at this moment. The UK government must immediately condemn Trump’s monstrous proposals, affirm its commitment to all of the rights of the Palestinian people as enshrined in international law including their right to self-determination, defend and support UNRWA, and introduce meaningful sanctions to hold Israel accountable for its crimes, including through a comprehensive two-way arms embargo. Anything short of this strips credibility from any future assertions by this government of support for the rule of law and respect for human rights. Help us to build for a huge demonstration to send a clear message to the British government and to Trump – freedom for Palestine, no to ethnic cleansing, stop arming Israel.