Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Thursday proposed a plan to remove Gaza’s Palestinian population and relocate them abroad.
His proposal came a day after Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel had prepared plans to transfer Palestinians out of Gaza but was waiting for the United States to identify countries willing to receive them.
Ben-Gvir’s plan calls for 250,000 Palestinians to leave Gaza within the first year, followed by the departure of the remaining population—estimated at around two million—over the subsequent six years.
The far-right minister, a prominent member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, described the proposal as “realistic.” He claimed several countries were prepared to receive Palestinians from Gaza but did not name them.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper and news website on Wednesday, Katz said there was ultimately “no real solution for Gaza without this migration.”
He added that the Israeli government was organised and prepared to transport Palestinians “by sea, by air and by every possible means.”
The remarks come weeks before Israel’s legislative elections, which are expected to be closely contested. They will be the country’s first elections since the Gaza war began following the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023.
The conflict has caused widespread destruction across the besieged Palestinian territory, displaced most of its population at least once and triggered a severe humanitarian crisis.
