JERUSALEM: Israel’s defence minister ordered the army on Thursday (Feb 6) to prepare a plan to allow the “voluntary departure” of residents from Gaza, Israeli media said, after President Trump drew widespread condemnation over US plans to take over the strip.
Defence Minister Israel Katz hailed Trump’s announcement that the United States would aim to take control of Gaza, resettle the more than 2 million Palestinians living there and transform the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
“I welcome President Trump’s bold plan, Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is the norm around the world,” Katz said on X.
Katz said his plan would include exit options via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.
Displacement of Palestinians is one of the most sensitive and explosive issues in the Middle East. Forced or coerced displacement of a population under military occupation is a war crime, banned under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Israeli strikes which killed tens of thousands of people over the past 16 months have forced Palestinians to repeatedly move around within Gaza, seeking safety.
But many say they will never leave the enclave because they fear permanent displacement, like the “Nakba”, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed from their homes in the war at the birth of the state of Israel in 1948.
Many were driven out or fled to Gaza, the West Bank and neighbouring Arab states including Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, where their descendants still live in refugee camps. Israel disputes the account that they were forced out.
Katz said countries who have opposed Israel’s military operations in Gaza should take in the Palestinians.
“Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have levelled accusations and false claims against Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories,” he said.
“Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse to do so. There are countries like Canada, which has a structured immigration program, that have previously expressed a willingness to accept Gaza residents.”
His remarks drew quick criticism from Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.
“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 accused Hamas of holding Palestinians hostage in Gaza, preventing their departure and extorting money from them through the humanitarian aid system. He did not elaborate.
Trump’s unexpected announcement, which has sparked anger around the Middle East, came as Israel and militant group Hamas were expected to begin talks on the second round of a fragile ceasefire plan to end almost 16 months of fighting in Gaza.
INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION
Trump drew rebukes on Wednesday over his plan for Gaza from world powers Russia, China and Germany, which said it would foster “new suffering and new hatred”.
Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal outright and Jordan’s King Abdullah, who will meet Trump at the White House next week, said on Wednesday he rejected any attempts to annex land and displace Palestinians.
In a post on X, Iran’s foreign ministry said Trump’s plan is part of Israel’s attempt to “completely wipe out the Palestinian people”.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Trump’s proposal was “remarkable” and urged that it be explored, even as he was not specific about what he believed Trump was offering.
Netanyahu said he did not believe Trump suggested sending US troops to fight Hamas in Gaza, or that Washington would finance rebuilding efforts.
“This is the first good idea that I’ve heard,” he added. “It’s a remarkable idea, and I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done because I think it will create a different future for everyone.”
