Israel publicly began “preparations” for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza Thursday despite international rejection of President Donald Trump’s proposal to empty the territory of its population.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that he has ordered the military to prepare to facilitate the emigration of large numbers of Palestinians from Gaza through land crossings as well as “special arrangements for exit by sea and air.”
Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes, warning any such action would put its peace deal with Israel at risk, officials said.
The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the suggestion, given its frosty international reception, saying any relocation of the region’s 2.3 million people would be temporary.
U.S. officials have provided few details about how or when the plan could be imposed on Palestinians. In a social media post, Trump said Thursday that Israel would “turn Gaza over to the U.S.” after the war and that no U.S. soldiers would be needed for his plan to redevelop it.
The Palestinians have strongly rejected Trump’s proposal, which amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Egypt has warned that an expulsion would destabilize the region and undermine its peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of stability and U.S. influence for decades.
Saudi Arabia, another key U.S. ally, has also rejected any mass transfer of Palestinians and says it will not normalize relations with Israel—a key goal of the Trump administration—without the creation of a Palestinian state that includes Gaza.
Trump and Israeli officials have depicted the proposed relocation from war-ravaged Gaza as voluntary, but Palestinians have universally expressed their determination to remain in their homeland.
Trump and Israeli officials have not said how they would respond if Palestinians refuse to leave.
But Human Rights Watch and other groups say the plan meets the definition of ethnic cleansing—the forcible relocation of the civilian population of an ethnic group from a geographic area.
Morning Star
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