Trump’s Gaza displacement push ‘received well’ in Israel
The Israeli public, as well as the Israeli government, is receiving this [Trump’s calls to displace Palestinians from Gaza] well. In fact, a survey that was done two days ago, published in Israeli media, found that 80 percent of respondents supported removing – forcibly displacing – Gaza’s population outside of its land.
And then, you have the Israeli government – members of Netanyahu’s coalition and members of the opposition – saying that this is a great idea, that it’s the dawn of a new day.
It’s also worth mentioning comments made by Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff who played an integral part in the ceasefire negotiations. He said Palestinians’ right to a better life shouldn’t necessarily be tied to the land itself.
But if you know anything about the Middle East, if you know anything about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, you’ll know that it’s all tied to the land and Israeli occupation.
Still, these ideas are being received well in Israel, members of whose government have been calling for this since the beginning of the war. They used to use the term “voluntary migration” and it’s become more aggressive now with the forced displacement of the Palestinian people.
Palestinians stand next to a fire beside a destroyed house in an area littered with rubble from buildings destroyed during the Israeli army’s ground and air offensive in Gaza City
Israeli minister suggests Palestinians from Gaza would leave for work abroad
Minister Ze’ev Elkin is quoted by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan as saying he believes Palestinians from Gaza would agree to relocate if they were presented with a suitable “rehabilitation plan somewhere else in the world”.
“There is quite a demand for labour,” Elkin added, hinting that Palestinians would have better job opportunities outside of the enclave.
As we’ve reported, Egypt and Jordan have repeatedly ruled out Trump’s calls for them to take in Palestinians from Gaza, saying they will not contribute to “displacement”.
Elkin, however, suggested the US could use its influence to strong-arm the Arab states into following his plan. “The US has leverage over Jordan and Egypt, which receives the largest aid in the world after us,” said Elkin, who is in charge of the rehabilitation and rebuilding of northern Israel after Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
‘Beautiful relationship’: Israel’s Ben-Gvir ecstatic about Trump’s Gaza comments
Far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who resigned as Netanyahu’s national security minister last month in objection to the Gaza ceasefire deal, is happy about the US president’s comments as he eyes a comeback.
“Donald, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” he wrote in a rare English post on X after the president said the US wants to “own” the enclave and develop it.
In a separate post in Hebrew, Ben-Gvir said Trump is now touting a plan he has been proudly backing to “encourage migration” of Palestinians from Gaza.
“When I said time and time again during the war that this was the solution to Gaza, they mocked me. Now it is clear: this is the only solution, this is the strategy for the ‘day after’. I call on the prime minister to announce adoption of the plan as soon as possible and to begin immediate practical progress,” Ben-Gvir said.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Ben-Gvir has said the likelihood of his return to the Netanyahu coalition has increased.
Israel’s far-right politicians ‘on a high’ as Trump fleshes out their dreams
What Trump read from his papers was tailored to the extreme right-wing representatives in the Israeli government, according to Menachem Klein, professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
“It’s not out of the blue, this is their wish and their dream not only to end the Hamas regime in Gaza, but to implement an ethnic cleansing plan and expand their own population,” he told Al Jazeera from West Jerusalem.
Trump’s comment that he may support annexation of the occupied West Bank because Israeli territory is “too small” signals the agenda of right-wing factions in Israel as well, the professor said.
“The key question is whether Saudi Arabia will condition its deal with the US and normalisation with Israel to abandoning this plan, not just saying they support Palestinians’ right to self-determination.”
The Israeli far-right coalition is “on a high” and sees a dramatic change in their situation, in particular in light of their failure to achieve their war goals of destroying Hamas and getting all captives out of Gaza, Klein added.
“The Israeli centre is silent. They do not say this is against humanitarian law, a crime, or something they reject. They are very cautious. The Israeli public discourse previously normalised genocide in Gaza, and now, it is normalising ethnic cleansing. There’s no cry by the so-called Israeli opposition against this,” he said.
Israel’s top diplomat frames Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan for Gaza as ‘voluntary migration’
“As long as immigration is undertaken voluntarily and as long as there is a country that is willing to accept that person, can anyone say that this is immoral?” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has said in comments carried by Israel’s Arutz Sheva media group.
“It seems that it is moral for every nation and for every person, unless he is Palestinian?” he added.
Earlier, Trump proclaimed that “the only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative” and claimed they would be better off elsewhere.
As we’ve reported, his plan prompted global condemnation.
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