Jerusalem (TDI): Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that he has instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with US President Donald Trump’s proposal for the war-ravaged enclave.
He said the plan “will include options for exit at land crossings and special arrangements for exit by sea and air.”
He said he welcomed President Trump’s “bold plan, which could allow a large number of people in Gaza to leave for different places in the world.”
He did not say whether Palestinians would be able to one day return to the enclave, which has been rendered largely uninhabitable by Israel’s 15-month aggression against Hamas.
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Trump on Wednesday proposed that most of Gaza’s population be “permanently” resettled elsewhere while the US rebuilds the territory.
US officials later said the relocation would only be temporary, but Palestinians fear Israel would never allow them to return, exacerbating a refugee crisis dating back to the establishment of the state.
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Trump’s plan was outrightly rejected by the Palestinians and much of the global community.
Rights groups said it would amount to forcible displacement which is violation of international law.
