&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘There is no plan’: US envoy denies Israel’s forced Gaza displacement bid")
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday (Sep 5) denied that Israel was preparing to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, following proposals by far-right Israeli ministers calling for the territory’s population to leave.
“I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will,” Huckabee told reporters while visiting Palestinian-Americans in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
His comments came days after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir proposed a plan to encourage the departure of 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in its first year, with the remaining population leaving over the next six years. Defence Minister Israel Katz had also said Israel was prepared to remove Palestinians by sea and land.
Trump administration backs ‘choice’
Huckabee said US President Donald Trump’s administration supported Palestinians having the option to leave Gaza voluntarily, while rejecting any suggestion of coercion.
“There is an open-mindedness if people wish to leave, that they should have the right to leave,” he said, describing it as a “disgrace” to “incarcerate” Palestinians inside Gaza.
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“Nobody is suggesting there would be forced displacement – the Israelis are not, the Americans are not. I know of no one who supports that,” he added.
Forced displacement of civilians from occupied territory is prohibited under international humanitarian law and can constitute a war crime. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, launched after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, has already displaced virtually the entire population at least once.
Gaza plan remains contentious
The issue has repeatedly sparked international alarm, particularly after US President Donald Trump earlier proposed temporarily relocating all Palestinians from Gaza and redeveloping the territory as a luxury resort. Trump later backed away from the proposal following strong opposition, including from Egypt.
Huckabee’s remarks come ahead of Israel’s October 27 election, with polls indicating a closely fought contest involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government includes far-right ministers advocating tougher policies toward Gaza.
