File Photo: Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz speaks to reporters in Jerusalem. AFP
“I have instructed the [army] to prepare a plan to enable voluntary departure for Gaza residents to any country willing to accept them,” Katz said in a statement on Thursday.
He said the plan would include exit options via land crossings and special arrangements for departures by sea and air.
His statements came after US President Donald Trump sparked outrage by suggesting the United States would “take over” Gaza, displace its Palestinian population, and turn the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said.
“We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs.”
Trump proposed this on Tuesday during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his first foreign visitor since returning to office.
Katz told Israeli media that countries critical of Israel’s 15-month war on Gaza should take in Palestinian refugees.
“Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others … are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories,” he claimed. He also pointed to Canada, which he said has an immigration programme and has previously expressed a willingness to take in Gazans.
The plan to displace Gaza’s population under the guise of humanitarian concern stands in stark contrast to Israel’s war on the territory, which has killed at least 47,000 people and injured more than 111,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Since Tuesday, Trump’s proposal to displace Palestinians from Gaza has drawn widespread condemnation from Palestinian leaders, regional governments, and European officials.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas “strongly rejected” the plan, affirming that the “legitimate Palestinian rights are non-negotiable.”
Hamas also denounced it as a “racist” attempt to eliminate the Palestinian cause.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal outright. At the same time, Jordan’s King Abdullah, who is set to meet Trump at the White House next week, said he opposed any attempts to annex land or forcibly deport Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Trump’s plan as part of Israel’s efforts to “completely wipe out the Palestinian people.”
The backlash came as Egypt, Qatar, and the US mediate talks between Israel and Hamas over a potential second-phase ceasefire agreement.
Arab states have firmly opposed any forced displacement of Palestinians, reaffirming that a two-state solution based on 4 June 1967 borders remains the only viable resolution.
On Wednesday, Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights urged the UN Security Council to consider Trump’s proposal a threat to international peace and security.
White House walks back Gaza plan
The White House appeared to backtrack on Trump’s plan after the backlash. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that the president envisioned only a “temporary relocation” of Palestinians rather than permanent displacement and resettlement in Arab-majority states.
According to AFP, Leavitt said the US would not fund Gaza’s reconstruction or send troops. “That does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza. It does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort,” she explained.
Trump, she added, expected “our partners in the region, particularly Egypt and Jordan, to accept Palestinian refugees, temporarily, so that we can rebuild their home.” Leavitt described Gaza as “a demolition site” and said: “It’s not a livable place for any human being.”
Asked if US troops in Gaza were ruled out, Leavitt said: “The president has not committed to that just yet.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed the shift, calling Trump’s idea “a very generous move—the offer to rebuild and to be in charge of the rebuilding.”
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