By sea and by air… Israel prepares Gaza transfer plan ahead of Rubio’s visit
An Israeli report revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is drafting a plan to relocate Palestinians, while also noting that the likelihood of its implementation remains “extremely low.”
Netanyahu is expected to present the plan to the U.S. Secretary of State, who will be visiting Israel in the coming days.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 News: “During a meeting with Netanyahu, the security establishment presented a plan that would allow Gaza residents to leave the Strip starting next month, either by air or by sea.”
The report added: “Next week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Israel, and one of the key issues to be discussed during his meetings will be voluntary migration.”
It continued: “Israel is holding talks with several countries, most of which have been publicly named, but so far no agreement has been reached with any of them.”
Channel 12 further noted that “despite sweeping promises made to the outside world, Israel itself remains skeptical about the chances of moving forward with such a plan.”
Citations from a government session underscored the divisions: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated, “There is no point in investing large sums of money if Gaza residents return within a year. Without major change in the Gaza Strip, this effort is pointless.”
Netanyahu himself remarked: “We will not invest significant sums, but we will make progress with the countries willing to absorb them.” For his part, Itamar Ben Gvir declared: “This is the order of the day, the most important issue we are dealing with right now, and we must act as quickly as possible to set it in motion immediately.”
Channel 12 concluded: “In this light, Israel appears—at least outwardly—to be promoting former U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiative to encourage migration. A dedicated office has recently been created in Israel to handle the issue, and Netanyahu has made major promises to Ben Gvir. Yet in practice, not only is there currently no final agreement with any country, but Israel itself is unwilling to allocate funds to the project, underscoring the minimal chances of it materializing.”
