TEL AVIV, Israel (MNTV) — Israel has prepared plans to illegally remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and is waiting for the United States to determine where they would be taken, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Katz made the remarks at a conference organized by Israeli news outlet Ynet and newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, saying Israel was prepared to carry out the removal of Gaza’s population by sea, air or other means.
Katz claimed that there was no lasting solution for Gaza without what he described as the “migration” of its population.
His comments amount to an open endorsement of a policy that would forcibly uproot Palestinians from their homeland after years of Israeli military operations and mass displacement.
The Israeli minister said the plan had not been abandoned by US President Donald Trump but had effectively been put on hold while Washington considers potential destinations for Palestinians.
Egypt, which borders Gaza, has rejected proposals that would facilitate the permanent displacement of Palestinians from the territory.
Trump had previously proposed moving roughly two million Palestinians out of Gaza and transforming the devastated coastal territory into a major development and tourism destination.
The proposal triggered widespread opposition, including from Palestinians and regional governments.
The idea carries particular significance for Palestinians because forced removal from Gaza would evoke the Nakba, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced during the creation of Israel in 1948.
Trump later outlined a Gaza ceasefire framework that included a commitment against forced displacement. Katz, however, said the earlier relocation proposal remained under discussion and could be revived if Washington approved it.
He linked any potential implementation to the conduct of Hamas, saying Israel would seek US approval if it determined that Hamas was failing to meet its obligations under the ceasefire arrangement.
Katz also claimed, without providing evidence, that 80 percent of Gaza residents wanted to leave and that Hamas was preventing them from doing so.
The prospect of removing Gaza’s population has drawn severe international criticism. Forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is prohibited under international humanitarian law and can constitute a war crime when carried out unlawfully.
Israel has already displaced the overwhelming majority of Gaza’s population, with Palestinians repeatedly forced to move between areas during the genocide started on October 8, 2023.
The latest statements have therefore intensified fears that displacement could become another excuse for Israel to occupy Palestinian lands.