CAIRO, Feb 5, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The Arab League said on Wednesday that a shock suggestion by US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza and displace Palestinians would violate international law and cause further instability.

While "confident in the United States and its president's desire to achieve a just peace in the region", the Arab League's secretariat said Trump's proposal promotes "the displacement of Palestinians, which is rejected on the Arab and international levels".

The 22-member regional bloc said that such a move, after more than 15 months of devastating war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, was "a recipe for instability" and would be in "violation of international law".

Trump, in a White House news conference on Tuesday with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had said the United States should "take over" the Gaza Strip, expelling its people to other countries.

The announcement was met with audible gasps in the room, and has faced resounding rejection since from Palestinians, Middle East leaders and governments around the world.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said international law was "very clear" that "any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited".

More than two weeks into a fragile truce in the Gaza war, the Arab League on Wednesday called for a push towards comprehensive peace.

The secretariat's statement urged the implementation of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with "the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip together constituting the territory of the future Palestinian state" and "no separation or infringement on the rights of the Palestinians".