The Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa says Palestinians in Gaza should be allowed to return to their original homes in Israel – instead of being permanently forced out of Gaza to Jordan and Egypt under US President Trump’s expulsion plan.

PSNA Chair John Minto says the Trump plan, which has just been agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, is rewarding Israel for its genocidal destruction of Gaza.

“The whole Israel plan was to make Gaza unliveable by bombing it to smithereens over the past year. Israel has failed to drive the Palestinians out, and so now Israel has passed the depopulation job for two million people, onto the United States.”

“But 80 percent of them are already refugees from Israeli ethnic cleansing in 1948. Under International Law they are entitled to head the other way – back to their real homes in Jerusalem, Haifa, Ashkelon and other towns and cities in what is now Israel.”

“Every year the General Assembly of the United Nations votes to demand Israel allow the families of the Palestinians forced out of Palestine in 1948 to return to their homes and be paid compensation.”

“New Zealand votes for this resolution. Our nation’s official policy for years has been to affirm the right of Palestinians to return to their original homes in Palestine.”

Minto says this view is a long-standing world consensus.

“I’ve just seen a statement by former Saudi Arabian diplomat Prince Turki al Faisal. He is saying exactly the same thing. Most Palestinians are only in Gaza because of western complicity in allowing Israel to drive them there. They must be allowed to go back.”

“Our Foreign Minister should immediately stand by government policy and clearly and publicly tell Donald Trump that his Palestinian expulsion plan is not a humanitarian gesture, but a cynical war crime designed to do more dirty work for Israel and more than likely set up a resort development opportunity for his son-in-law Jared Kushner.”

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