Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the IDF to prepare a plan that would allow voluntary departure of Gaza residents “for any country willing to accept them,” his office announced Thursday morning.
“I welcome the bold initiative of US President Trump, which could enable a large portion of Gaza’s population to relocate to various destinations worldwide,” Katz said in a statement.
“Gaza residents should be granted the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is customary everywhere in the world,” he emphasized. “The plan will include options for departure via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.”
“Hamas has used Gaza residents as human shields, built terror infrastructure in the heart of civilian areas, and now holds them hostage, extorting money from them by exploiting humanitarian aid and preventing them from leaving Gaza,” the defense minister pointed out.
What Trump Said
The order followed Tuesday’s announcement by US President Donald Trump that “the US will take over the Gaza Strip” during a joint news conference at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At this point, he said, the area is not safe for anyone.
“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings,” Trump said.
A bit earlier, Trump and Netanyahu spoke with reporters in a separate presser at the Oval Office.
“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” the president said. “You can’t live in Gaza right now. I think we need another location.
“I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy. You look over the decades, it’s all death in Gaza. This has been happening for years. It’s all death.
It would be best to “get a beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza,” Trump added.
Such a plan would present a win-win solution to a problem that has plagued the region for decades: how to help Gaza civilians while preventing the multitude of Gaza terrorists and their supports from presenting an unending, existential threat to the State of Israel.
The president said that under his administration the US would “create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.
“You can’t go back – if you go back, its going to end up the same way it has for 100 years,” he warned.
Widespread Grassroots Israeli Support
Approximately seven out of ten Israelis supported the Trump Plan for Gaza, although not all believe the plan is practical, according to data released this week by the Jewish People Policy Institute.
Forty-three percent of all Israeli respondents said they believe Trump’s plan is “practical” and should be pursued, according to the survey results. A narrow majority of Jewish Israelis – 52 percent – agreed. An additional 30 percent of Jewish Israelis responded that the plan is “not practical but desirable.”
Most Arab Israelis who were polled, (54 percent of Arab respondents) said however that they considered Trump’s proposal to be “immoral.”
Netanyahu Offers Cautious Support
Israel’s prime minister cautiously, carefully hailed the plan in his own remarks, reiterating the three goals of the State of Israel stated from the outset of the war launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
“In Gaza Israel has three goals: Destroy Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, secure the release of all our hostages and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu reminded.
“Your willingness to think outside the box with fresh ideas will help us to achieve these goals. And I’ve seen you do this many times,” the prime minister told Trump during their news conference.
“You cut to the chase, see things others refuse to see, say things others refuse to say and after the jaws drop people scratch their heads and say, ‘You know, he’s right.’ This is the kind of thinking that enabled us to bring the Abraham Accords, enable us to shape the Middle East and bring peace,” Netanyahu said.
‘Gaza Residents Should be Free to Emigrate’
In his statement, Israel’s defense minister underscored the international double standard that has applied to Gaza residents for decades.
“Countries such as Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have falsely accused and slandered Israel for its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow any Gazan resident to enter their territory,” Katz said.
“Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse to do so.
“Some countries, like Canada, which has an established immigration program, have previously expressed willingness to accept residents from Gaza,” Katz noted.
“Gaza residents should be granted the freedom to leave and immigrate, as is customary worldwide,” he emphasized.
The defense minister added that the Trump Plan for Gaza could create broad opportunities for those residents who wish to leave, assisting them in successfully integrating into host countries.
The plan could “facilitate the promotion of reconstruction plans for a demilitarized and threat-free Gaza in a post-Hamas era,” he said, noting that the process will, in any case, “take many years.”
