Israel plans to open a new office to manage the mass expulsion of more than two million Palestinians from Gaza to other countries, far-right lawmakers said on March 9, as reported by the Washington Post.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the new "Emigration Authority" — which would be jointly overseen by the Defence Ministry and PM Benjamin Netanyahu's office — would carry out the “massive logistical operation” to relocate Palestinians from Gaza and find destination countries for them.
“Not too long ago, it was taboo to speak about people leaving Gaza, but now the people who were crazy are the most realistic. Not only is it realistic, but it’s the only plan that’s realistic,” Smotrich told Knesset members.
The new office, yet to be confirmed by the Defence Ministry, would mark a concrete step toward implementing US President Donald Trump’s highly controversial February 2025 proposal to expel Palestinians from the enclave, to then occupy and redevelop it.
Trump’s controversial proposal has been widely criticised as a form of ethnic cleansing. Last week, Arab leaders unveiled a counter proposal that would see the Palestinian territory rebuilt without its people being displaced.
More than two million Palestinians live in Gaza, which has been devastated by 16 months of relentless Israeli bombardment, leaving its population in a dire humanitarian crisis, facing severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies.
