Utterly deplorable:
3 min
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that he has instructed the military to draft a plan to “allow voluntary departure” of Gaza residents from the enclave — days after President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for the United States to “take over” the Gaza Strip and remove all the people living there.
“I welcome President Trump’s bold plan, which could enable a large segment of Gaza’s population to relocate to various destinations around the world,” Katz said in a statement.
The Israeli plan would allow Gaza residents to depart for “any country willing to receive them,” via land crossings or through “special arrangements for departure by sea and air,” he said. Palestinians in Gaza have mostly not been able to leave the enclave since the war began in October 2023, with some exceptions such as limited medical evacuations.
Katz cited Spain, Ireland and Norway — governments that have criticized Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and which are unlikely to agree to cooperate with Trump’s proposal — as places that could take in Palestinians.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in response: “No one should enter into a debate about where the Palestinians, and in particular Gazan Palestinians, should go. The land of the Gazan Palestinians is Gaza.”
The White House has since tried to temper parts of Trump’s declaration, which drew condemnation from U.S. foes and allies alike.
3 min
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that he has instructed the military to draft a plan to “allow voluntary departure” of Gaza residents from the enclave — days after President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for the United States to “take over” the Gaza Strip and remove all the people living there.
“I welcome President Trump’s bold plan, which could enable a large segment of Gaza’s population to relocate to various destinations around the world,” Katz said in a statement.
The Israeli plan would allow Gaza residents to depart for “any country willing to receive them,” via land crossings or through “special arrangements for departure by sea and air,” he said. Palestinians in Gaza have mostly not been able to leave the enclave since the war began in October 2023, with some exceptions such as limited medical evacuations.
Katz cited Spain, Ireland and Norway — governments that have criticized Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and which are unlikely to agree to cooperate with Trump’s proposal — as places that could take in Palestinians.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in response: “No one should enter into a debate about where the Palestinians, and in particular Gazan Palestinians, should go. The land of the Gazan Palestinians is Gaza.”
The White House has since tried to temper parts of Trump’s declaration, which drew condemnation from U.S. foes and allies alike.
Here’s what else to know
- U.N. Secretary General António Guterres denounced “any form of ethnic cleansing” in Gaza in remarks Wednesday on Palestinian rights that did not directly mention Trump’s proposal. “In the search for solutions, we must not make the problem worse,” he said.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that under Trump’s proposal, Palestinians would be displaced temporarily rather than permanently, as Trump had initially said. She added that Trump’s plan “does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza.” Trump had said he would send troops to Gaza “if it’s necessary.”
- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Thursday that Israel had withdrawn from the U.N. Human Rights Council, after a similar decision this week by the United States. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the council, which promotes human rights and monitors abuses, of having a “blatant anti-Israel obsession.”
- An Israeli reserve soldier has been sentenced to seven months in prison for abusing detainees at a notorious Israeli facility holding Palestinians from Gaza, the Israeli military said Thursday. The soldier, Israel Hajbi, was found guilty of beating blindfolded and handcuffed detainees at the Sde Teiman base using his fists and weapons in several incidents. A number of reservists were detained last summer over allegations of abuse, after months of international pressure and domestic legal scrutiny of the detention center’s conditions.
