Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday he instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip via land crossings as well as sea and air routes.
Katz welcomed what he called U.S. President Donald Trump’s “bold plan” for Gaza residents to leave the territory, which has been devastated by Israeli ground and air attacks targeting Hamas militants.
Palestinian officials rejected Trump’s suggestion made in a Tuesday news conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States take ownership of the Gaza Strip, force 2 million Palestinians to move to other countries and then turn the territory along the Mediterranean Sea into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Netanyahu told Fox News late Wednesday that Palestinians could leave Gaza while it is rebuilt and then return.
“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,” Netanyahu said.
Trump’s proposal has met widespread criticism, including from the United Nations, with U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric telling reporters Wednesday that any forced displacement “is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Wednesday that Trump’s proposals “generate deep concern in some people, even horror,” and would be “unacceptable under international law.”
The 22-member Arab League said Trump’s plan “represents a recipe for instability” and would not advance the prospects of Palestinian statehood.
The United States has long supported a negotiated two-state solution to resolve decades of Israel-Palestinian conflict.
“They must be allowed home,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday. “They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild, on the way to a two-state solution.”
Australia, China, Germany, Ireland, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Spain all said following Trump’s proposal that they continue to support a two-state solution.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for the United Nations to “protect the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights,” saying that what Trump wanted to do would be “a serious violation of international law.”
Hamas said Trump’s Gaza proposal was a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region. Instead of holding the Zionist occupation accountable for the crime of genocide and displacement, it is being rewarded, not punished.”
Even before Trump called for U.S. ownership of Gaza, Egypt and Jordan had in recent days rejected his suggestion that Gaza’s Palestinian population be relocated to their countries.
Egypt’s foreign ministry issued a statement stressing the need for rebuilding in Gaza “without moving the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.”
United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said Wednesday that deporting people from Israeli-occupied Gaza was illegal.
“The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and must be protected by all states, as the International Court of Justice recently underlined afresh,” Turk said in a statement. “Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited.”
Later, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a speech that “in the search for solutions, we must not make the problem worse. It is vital to stay true to the bedrock of international law. It is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing.”
Fighting in Gaza has halted amid a six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group.
Hamas sparked the war with an October 2023 attack on Israel during which the militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
Israel’s counteroffensive has killed more than 47,500 people, more than half women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza. The Israeli military says it has killed 17,000 Hamas militants.
Hamas is believed to be holding about 60 living captives.
During the first phase of the ceasefire, the militants have released 18 hostages, while Israel has freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
More people are due to be set free in the coming weeks, and negotiators are working on the details of a planned second phase of the ceasefire that would bring an end to the conflict, free the remaining hostages and see Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
