JERUSALEM: Israel’s defense minister ordered the army on Thursday to prepare for “voluntary” departures from Gaza, after US President Donald Trump proposed moving Palestinians out of the territory.
The idea sparked uproar from leaders in the Middle East and beyond, and the Trump administration appeared to walk back some of the suggestions.
Hours later, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to formulate a plan for Palestinians to leave Gaza, which has been ravaged by more than a year of war.
“I have instructed the IDF (military) to prepare a plan to enable voluntary departure for Gaza residents,” Katz said, adding they could go “to any country willing to accept them.”
Trump announced his proposal to audible gasps on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to meet him at the White House since his inauguration.
The United Nations warned any forced displacement of Palestinians would be “tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
Trump insisted “everybody loves” the plan, saying it would involve the United States taking over Gaza, though he offered few details on how more than two million Palestinians would be removed.
His administration later appeared to backtrack, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying any transfer of Gazans would be temporary.
Trump doubled down on his proposal on Thursday, however.
“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” he said on his Truth Social network.
“No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!”
Hamas’s spokesman condemned Trump’s statements as “absolutely unacceptable.”
“Trump’s remarks about Washington taking control of Gaza amount to an open declaration of intent to occupy the territory,” Hazem Qassem said.
“Gaza is for its people and they will not leave.
“We call for the convening of an emergency Arab summit to confront the displacement project.”
Netanyahu, speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, called the proposal “remarkable” and hailed Trump as Israel’s “greatest friend.”
“I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone.”
Katz said Trump’s plan “could create broad opportunities for Gaza residents who wish to leave, help them integrate optimally in host countries, and also facilitate the advancement of reconstruction programs for a demilitarised, threat-free Gaza.”
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who has repeatedly expressed support for Trump’s proposal to relocate Gazans, and who vowed Wednesday to “definitively bury” the idea of a Palestinian state — said he welcomed Katz’s move.
Much of Gaza has been levelled by the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country’s history, but Palestinians residing in the coastal territory have vowed not to leave.
For them, any attempt to push them out of Gaza recalls the “Nakba,” or “catastrophe” — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.
“They can do whatever they want, but we will remain steadfast in our homeland,” said 41-year-old Gazan Ahmed Halasa.
Israelis in Jerusalem largely welcomed Trump’s proposal, though some doubted it could be carried out.
“I really like what he said, but in my wildest dreams... it’s hard for me to believe it will happen, but who knows,” said 65-year-old Refael.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wanted Palestinians to only be “temporarily relocated” out of Gaza.
“It’s not a liveable place for any human being,” she said.
Trump, who also suggested he might visit Gaza, implied it would not be rebuilt for Palestinians.
Even before Tuesday’s announcements, Trump had suggested residents of Gaza should move to Egypt and Jordan, both of which have flatly rejected any resettlement of Palestinians on their territory.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas rejected the proposal, calling it a “serious violation” of international law and insisting that “legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized “the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people... to simply live as human beings in their own land.”
His spokesman Stephane Dujarric, when asked about Trump’s plan, said: “Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
Israel’s military offensive in response to Hamas’s attack has left much of Gaza in ruins, including schools, hospitals and most civil infrastructure.
Human Rights Watch said the destruction of Gaza “reflects a calculated Israeli policy to make parts of the strip unliveable.”
Trump’s plan “would move the US from being complicit in war crimes to direct perpetration of atrocities,” said HRW regional director Lama Fakih.
In a bid to address the dire humanitarian situation, aid has been rushed into the territory since a fragile ceasefire took effect on January 19.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Thursday that more than 10,000 aid trucks had crossed into Gaza since the truce went into effect, calling it “a massive surge.”
Israel orders army to plan to let Palestinians leave Gaza
https://arab.news/n4pfr
Israel orders army to plan to let Palestinians leave Gaza
- “I have instructed the IDF to prepare a plan to enable voluntary departure for Gaza residents,” Katz said
- Israeli Defense Minister said they could go “to any country willing to accept them”
Aoun hails disarmament progress: ‘Lebanon achieved in 1 year what it had not seen in 4 decades’
- President Joseph Aoun highlights achievements during first year in office despite many challenges
- Army announced this month it had successfully disarmed Hezbollah in the south of the country
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed on Tuesday that the country’s armed forces “are now the sole operational authority south of the Litani River, despite doubts, accusations of treason, insults and slander.”
Speaking at the Presidential Palace in Baabda during a traditional New Year meeting with members of the diplomatic corps and the heads of international missions, he highlighted what he viewed as Lebanon’s achievements since he took office on Jan. 9, 2025.
The government’s approval in August and September last year of plans to bring all weapons in the country under state control, and ensure the authority of the state across all Lebanese territory using its own forces, was “no minor detail,” he said.
“Lebanon achieved in one year what it had not seen in four decades,” he added, as he recalled taking office in a “deeply wounded state” that has suffered decades of institutional paralysis and economic crises.
Despite campaigns of distortion, intimidation and misinformation, and Israel’s failure to abide by the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, the changed reality on the ground over the past 12 months speaks for itself, he said.
“The truth is what you see, not what you hear,” Aoun said, pointing out that “not a single bullet was fired from Lebanon during my first year in office, except for two specific incidents recorded last March, the perpetrators of which were swiftly arrested by official authorities.”
The army carried out “extensive operations” to clear large areas of the country of illegal weapons regardless of who controlled them, the president continued, in line with the terms of the Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement with Israel, which he described as “an accord Lebanon respects and that was unanimously endorsed by the country’s political forces.”
These efforts reflected a determination to spare the country a return to the “suicidal conflicts that have come at a heavy cost in the past,” he added.
Aoun stressed his commitment during the second year of his presidency to restoring control of all Lebanese territory to the exclusive authority of the state, securing the release of prisoners, and the reconstruction of war-ravaged areas.
He said that southern Lebanon, like all of the country’s international borders, would fall under the sole control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, putting a definitive end to any attempts “to draw us into the conflicts of others, even as those same parties pursue dialogue, negotiations and compromises in pursuit of their own national interests.”
The Lebanese Army Command announced early this month the completion of the first phase of its plans to disarm nonstate groups south of the Litani River. The government is now awaiting an army report next month detailing its next steps.
Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, the army’s commander, has said that the plan “does not have a specific time frame for completing this phase, which encompasses all Lebanese regions.”
A Lebanese official confirmed to Arab News that the army now has exclusive control of territory south of the Litani River, and no other armed forces or military factions have a presence there.
Aoun’s affirmation of his determination to “stay on course” came two days after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem gave a sharply worded speech that delivered both implicit and explicit rebukes aimed at the president and Foreign Minister Youssef Raji.
His criticisms focused on their efforts to take control of weapons north of the Litani River, following a declaration by Aoun that “the time for arms is over,” a position that Hezbollah vehemently rejects in what appears to be an attempt to derail the gradual, phased disarmament strategy embraced by the Lebanese government and the international community.
Progress in the efforts of the military to take control of all weapons in the country hinges on securing vital logistical support for the country’s armed forces, a condition tied to the International Conference for Supporting the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces, which is due to take place on March 5 in Paris.
Aoun told the diplomats that the conference is the result of efforts led by the international Quintet Committee supporting Lebanon: the US, Saudi Arabia, France, Qatar and Egypt.
Archbishop Paolo Borgia, the papal ambassador to Lebanon, speaking in his role as dean of the diplomatic corps, said that the current crisis in the country serves “as a harsh test” that must remind political leaders of their duty to prevent history from repeating itself.
He called for respect for all electoral processes as a vital part of any nation’s democratic life, and for “genuine peace without weapons, one that can disarm enemies through the convincing power of goodness and the strength of meeting and dialogue.”
He added: “Those holding the highest public offices must give special attention to rebuilding political relationships peacefully, both nationally and globally, a process grounded in mutual trust, honest negotiations and faithful adherence to commitments made.”
