Israeli minister: Trump’s scheme to expel Palestinians from Gaza ‘still on table’
The Israeli energy minister says US President Donald Trump’s controversial plan for the mass deportation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip “remains on the table.”
Speaking to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN on Monday, Eli Cohen said the so-called “voluntary migration” plan proposed by Trump “is being followed up.”
Since February, Trump has consistently advocated for the takeover of Gaza and the resettlement of its inhabitants to transform the area into a tourist attraction. This proposal has been met with rejection from the Muslim world and numerous other countries, who argue that it constitutes ethnic cleansing.
“Efforts to implement the plan are ongoing on the ground,” Cohen said, without providing further details.
The Israeli minister said there are “advanced talks” with two countries regarding the issue, without naming them. He, however, said that one of the two countries is “Islamic.”
“I don’t see a serious reconstruction process on the horizon for the Gaza Strip in the coming years,” Cohen said.
“Promoting the option of voluntary migration has become a realistic necessity imposed by the current situation in Gaza,” he noted.
On Sunday evening, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that his military is persistently demolishing residences in Gaza to deter Palestinians from returning and to compel their emigration.
The Israeli military resumed bombardment of Gaza on March 18, killing thousands of Palestinians, and injuring many others, after it shattered the 2-month ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas and the deal on the exchange of Israeli captives with Palestinian abductees.
At least 52,862 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 119,648 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and former Israeli minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the besieged coastal territory.
