Photo/Illutration Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya emphasizes Japan's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at a Lower House Budget Committee session on Feb. 6. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Japan stands by its policy of supporting a “two-state solution” for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip.

“We won’t change our stance,” Iwaya said in response to a question from a Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker at a Lower House Budget Committee session on the morning of Feb. 6.

This is the first time the Japanese government has officially clarified its stance on the Middle East issue since Trump’s remarks sparked shock, anger and bewilderment around the world.

“Our country’s idea is that the two-state solution must be taken in the end,” Iwaya said. “We will support the Palestinians’ hope of establishing an independent country.”

Trump, at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Feb. 4, said the United States will “take over” and rebuild the Gaza Strip.

He also said Palestinians living in Gaza would be relocated, mainly to neighboring countries.

Iwaya declined to give an opinion on Trump’s proposal.

“We can’t say anything definite under the current situation,” he said.

When asked if the Japanese government would issue a statement, Iwaya only said, “We need to stay cautious about how things will go.”

The United States has long pushed a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians can peacefully coexist.

Trump’s proposal, which flies in the face of that stance, has been criticized as violating international law and certain to cause further instability in the Middle East.

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