The Israeli Defense Minister said Thursday that he had ordered the soldiers of Israel to write a plan to allow the Gazans to leave the enclave voluntarily, a decision which comes after President Trump’s proposal for a massive resettlement of the Palestinians and a takeover led by the United States of the territory.
It was far from clear if the proposal would be made, where the Israeli authorities hoped that the Gazans would go, or how many people they imagined would leave.
But Israel Katz, the Minister of Defense, congratulated Mr. Trump’s initiative, saying that she could “allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world”.
Mr. Katz said that his plan for Gazans leave the enclave would include “exit options via land passages, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and in air”. He made no mention of knowledge if they would be allowed to return home after the war.
Trump Tuesday evening argued that the two million Palestinians in Gaza are expected to leave at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.
He also proposed that the United States “take over” and “have” the Gaza Strip, although administration officials later tried to soften its comments.
The plan spoke of a furious opposition in a large part of the world, and some criticisms argued that the movements could constitute an ethnic cleaning if it was implemented.
“It is a fantasy to think that ethnic cleaning in the 21st century can be tolerated,” said Turki Al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief, said In an interview on Wednesday with CNN. “The problem in Palestine is not the Palestinians-it is the Israeli occupation,” he added.
In devastated Gaza, many have sworn to stay despite the hunger, the cold and the fear of the renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas. The two parties are currently observing a six-week truce-the first stage of a ceasefire agreement mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States-and nothing guarantees how long it will last.
But Mr. Trump’s statements have already provoked celebrations between Israel’s rights, many of which have long promulgated “voluntary emigration” as the solution to the conflict with the Palestinians.
In the weeks following Hamas’ October 7 attack, the attack sparked the war, the aid of Mr. Netanyahu put pressure on his allies, including the United States and the United Kingdom, to do Pressure on Egypt to admit hundreds of thousands of Gazan civilians.
Israel’s partners largely rejected the proposal, in part because they feared that the Israeli authorities do not allow the Gazans to return home after the war.
The higher members of the Hard Online Coalition Government of Mr. Netanyahu have publicly called Israel to govern the territory indefinitely and to build Jewish colonies there.
Many modern wars have generated waves of refugees. But the Gazans, unusually, were mainly trapped inside the Palestinian enclave with little spell.
More than 100,000 first in the first months of the war before Israel conquered the border crossing with Egypt, closing the front door. This left around two million in the Gaza Strip, many of them have moved and live in tents.
Many Palestinians have resisted at the start: the mass movement of their parents and grandparents in the wars surrounding the establishment of Israel in 1948 remains one of their greatest collective trauma.
But neighboring countries like Egypt and Jordan have also shown little interest to take them, by treating them as an economic burden and a source of potential domestic upheavals.
During an interview with Fox News on Wednesday evening, Netanyahu said that the Palestinians could “move and return” if necessary. “The real idea of allowing gas to leave to leave – I mean, what’s wrong with that?” He said. “They can leave, they can then come back.”
Mr. Katz, the Israeli Minister of Defense, argued that countries like Spain and Norway, who criticized the conduct of Israel on the war in Gaza, were forced to take them or “their hypocrisy would be exposed ».
José Manuel Albares, Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, seemed to bring down the idea in an interview with the country’s public broadcaster Thursday morning.
“The lands of the Gazans are Gaza and Gaza must be part of the future Palestinian state”, ” said Mr. Albares.
