Spain rejects Israel's suggestion it should accept Palestinians from Gaza

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Thursday rejected the suggestion by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz that Spain should accept displaced Palestinians from Gaza.

"Gazans' land is Gaza and Gaza must be part of the future Palestinian state," Albares said in an interview with Spanish radio station RNE.

Katz ordered the army on Thursday to prepare a plan to allow the "voluntary departure" of residents from the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported.

The instruction followed U.S. President Donald Trump's shock announcement that the United States plans to take over Gaza, resettle the Palestinians living there and transform the territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

Katz added Spain, Ireland and Norway, which last year recognised a Palestinian state, are "legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories."

(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Ros Russell)

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