JERUSALEM: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (Aug 12) revived calls to “allow” Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip, as the military prepares a broader offensive in the territory.
Past calls to resettle Gazans outside of the war-battered territory, including from US President Donald Trump, have sparked concern among Palestinians and condemnation from the international community.
Netanyahu defended his war policies in a rare interview with Israeli media, broadcast shortly after Egypt said Gaza mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce.
The prime minister told Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS that “we are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave”.
“Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, combat zones, and generally to leave the territory, if they want,” he said, citing refugee outflows during wars in Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan.
In the Gaza Strip, Israel has for years tightly controlled the borders and barred many from leaving.
“We will allow this, first of all, within Gaza during the fighting, and we will certainly allow them to leave Gaza as well,” Netanyahu said.
For Palestinians, any effort to force them off their land would recall the “Nakba”, or catastrophe – the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.
Netanyahu has endorsed Trump’s suggestion this year to expel Gaza’s more than 2 million people to Egypt and Jordan, while far-right Israeli ministers have called for their “voluntary” departure.
