February 6, 2025

Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Shii Kazuo on February 5 issued a statement in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. could “take over” and “own” Palestine’s Gaza Strip. The full text of his statement is as follows:

The JCP condemns and demands retraction of U.S. President Trump’s statement on forcible expulsion of Gazans and American takeover of Gaza

February 5, 2025
Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Shii Kazuo

On February 4, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his proposal for Palestine’s Gaza Strip at a joint press conference after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He proposed that the U.S. take over the strip with a "long-term ownership position" after Gaza's 1.8 million people have been relocated elsewhere, with U.S. troops deployed if necessary. His Israeli counterpart expressed support for the idea, saying it is “worth paying attention” to.

At a time when the international community is exerting its efforts to find ways to strengthen humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, who have lived through horrors associated with the genocide committed by Israel, and to make the ceasefire permanent, it is outrageous that President Trump would say that he will displace the population and that “the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip,” trampling on the UN Charter, international law, and a series of relevant UN resolutions. We condemn this outrageous statement and demand that it be retracted.

Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru is reportedly scheduled to meet with President Trump on February 7, and the question to be asked is how will he respond to this worst “attempt to change the status quo by force” at the Japan-U.S. summit. The Gaza issue has become a pressing international issue, and the Japanese government has stated that the UN Charter and the right to self-determination of the Palestinians should be recognized. Therefore, if the prime minister avoids touching on the issue at all, the Japanese government’s position will certainly be called into question.