Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, has announced that the government is fully committed to implementing large-scale Palestinian migration from Gaza, which is a diplomatic way of saying “ethnic cleansing” - a term human rights groups have been using quite a bit lately. Katz made the declaration on Wednesday while marking the targeted killing of Mohammed Odeh, Hamas’s most recent military commander, proving that even in wartime, you can multitask.
Katz stated that the plan for “voluntary emigration” - a phrase that does a lot of heavy lifting - would proceed “at the right time and in the right manner.” This directly contradicts Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan for Gaza, which Israel signed last year. The second point of that plan reads: “Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.” Apparently, “for the benefit” is open to interpretation.
Israel’s government has been floating the idea of a Gaza without Palestinians since Trump suggested early last year that hundreds of thousands should leave to “clean out” the strip for reconstruction. Last year, Israel even set up a bureau for “voluntary emigration” and eased travel restrictions for Palestinians willing to make a one-way trip out. The forced transfer of civilian populations is a war crime and a crime against humanity, but Israeli officials prefer the term “voluntary migration.” It’s all about branding.
Israel-based human rights organizations and lawyers have warned that the conditions Israel has imposed on Gaza make any departure inherently involuntary, effectively planning for ethnic cleansing. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel put it bluntly last year: “Creating living conditions that do not allow for survival, freedom and dignity, and subjecting civilians to them until they say they want to leave is not a plan for ‘encouraging voluntary emigration’ but a plan for forced evacuation and expulsion.”
Katz added that the mass departure would go hand in hand with excluding Hamas from power. “We committed that Hamas will not rule Gaza civilly or militarily, and so it shall be, and also the voluntary emigration plan from Gaza will be implemented,” he posted on social media. A spokesperson for Katz did not respond to questions about whether Israel still considers Trump’s ceasefire binding.
With an election due by the end of October, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies are courting voters. Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst on Israel-Palestine at the International Crisis Group, explained: “Because we are looking at an extension of the ceasefire and de-escalation of the situation in Iran and Lebanon, Israel - and Netanyahu specifically - will be looking for ways to show that they’re doing something on the security front, and that means exercising military power.” She added, “Unfortunately talking about ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not necessarily something that will hurt you in domestic politics. In fact it might even help you.”