Image: Cuba in Summary

Havana, February 5 (RHC) -- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez on Wednesday rejected the new U.S. administration's claims on Gaza and defended the sovereignty of the coastal enclave and the Palestinian people.

"Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people.   Israel and its sponsor, the U.S., must respect it," the foreign minister stressed on the social network X.

Rodríguez said that the only alternative to end the conflict is the recognition of the independent Palestinian State within borders prior to 1967 and with its capital in East Jerusalem.

The day before, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he will take control of the Gaza Strip and "own" it, emphasizing that Palestinians should leave the enclave permanently.

According to the Republican president, “taking charge” means that “we will be responsible for dismantling all dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on site, leveling the site and getting rid of the buildings destroyed (by Israel itself with the same weapons provided by Washington).”

In a joint press conference, together with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said that they will create “an economic development that provides an unlimited amount of jobs and housing for the people in the area, do real work, do something different.”

Since October 2023, some 47,500 Palestinians have died, most of them women and children; 14,200 are still missing and the damages are around 50 billion dollars, according to official data.

[ SOURCE:  PRENSA LATINA ]