Hamas official says Trump’s plans for permanent expulsion from Gaza are ‘recipe for chaos’

A senior Hamas official slammed Donald Trump’s remarks on Tuesday as a “recipe for creating chaos” in the region after the US president said Palestinians were staying in Gaza because “they have no alternative”.

“We consider it a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region. Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass,” said senior Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri in a statement.

“What is required is an end to the occupation and aggression against our people, not their expulsion from their land.”

Trump first suggested the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza on 25 January by urging Egypt and Jordan to take in more people.

He has since reiterated the plan at least four times, including on Tuesday.

Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations, along with Palestinian leaders, have publicly rejected the proposal, which critics say would amount to ethnic cleansing.