Posted on 01/28/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
President Trump has repeatedly proposed relocating the population of Gaza for their own benefit. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, he explained the reasoning: "People are dying there, and everything is demolished. We need to clean that place out." He later stated that he wanted to build housing for Gazans "far from conflict" and tell them 'You know, it's over.'"
As detailed in other press conferences, Trump's plan would involve the complete relocation of all of Gaza's population to alternative housing in a different country to rehabilitate the Gaza Strip in their absence.
In a recent estimate, he claimed that such a project would involve moving 1.5 million people. Such a relocation has an estimated cost in the billions of dollars, aside from ongoing costs of maintenance and security.
Trump has equivocated on whether or not they should be allowed to return afterward and has openly considered making the relocation permanent. Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told a Knesset committee meeting today that Israel's security needs would not allow for Gazans to return. "The Gazans can exit through the Rafah Crossing into Eygpt, but only one way and they can not return to Gaza. The ISA, using cameras, will closely monitor those who cross the Rafah Crossing into Egypt."
In Favor
In a WSJ article published in November 2023, two MKs – Danny Danon of Likud, former ambassador to the UN, and Ram Ben Barak of opposition party Yesh Atid, former deputy director of the Mossad, wrote that "even if countries took in as few as 10,000 people each, it would help alleviate the crisis" in Gaza. saying that transferring tens of thousands of Gazans to Europe is a "moral imperative - and opportunity - to demonstrate compassion' towards the people of Gaza."
Trump's plan has met with vocal approval from several Israeli politicians and public figures, including MKs Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, as well as Nachala Movement leader Daniella Weiss. All have urged the adoption of a policy of 'encouraging voluntary emigration ' for Gazans by offering diplomatic, legal, and financial aid to any Gazan willing to leave for any other country.
Smotrich recently told a party meeting that he would work to ensure Trump's plan was carried out, and would instruct his staff to begin preparing a realistic framework for its implementation. He noted that as Finance Minister, he approved of the financial pressure Trump has exerted to convince Colombia to accept repatriated migrants, and would seek to use similar measures to put his plan for Gaza into effect.
Former MK Tzvi Sukkot and MK Limor Son Har-Melech have gone further, demanding that the Cabinet adopt the approach in Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the portions of Syria and Lebanon taken by Israeli forces.
Several Gazan social media influencers have called to be allowed out of Gaza as well, saying that Israel doesn't need to offer anything - only open the border and grant permission to exit.