VATICAN CITY, Holy See (AFP) – A top Vatican official on Thursday rejected US President Donald Trump’s proposal to move Palestinians from Gaza, saying “the Palestinian population must remain on its land”.

“This is one of the fundamental points of the Holy See: no deportations,” Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said on the sidelines of an Italy-Vatican meeting, according to the ANSA news agency.

Moving Palestinians out would cause regional tensions and “makes no sense” as neighbouring countries such as Jordan are opposed, he continued.

“The solution in our opinion is that of two states because this also means giving hope to the population,” he said.

Trump has proposed taking over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and moving its more than two million residents to Jordan or Egypt. Experts say the idea would violate international law but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called it “revolutionary”.

Pope Francis this week criticised Trump’s plans for mass deportations of undocumented migrants in the United States — drawing a sharp response.

In a letter to US bishops, the head of the Catholic Church called the deportations a “major crisis” and said sending back people who had fled their own countries in distress “damages the dignity” of the migrants.

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, responded: “I wish he’d stick to the Catholic Church and fix that and leave border enforcement to us.”