Key facts
- Senior Israeli security officials convened to discuss encouraging "voluntary emigration" from Gaza.
- Mossad reported no identified country willing to accept Palestinians from Gaza.
- Past attempts to advance expulsion plans have failed.
- A Knesset member deemed the plan politically and internationally infeasible.
- A Likud lawmaker called for the expulsion of all Arabs from the West Bank.
Senior Israeli security officials met on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of expelling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, a plan that has repeatedly failed to advance. Shmuel Ben Ezra, head of the National Security Council, convened the meeting with representatives from the army, Shin Bet, and Mossad.
According to Haaretz, Mossad officials stated that the agency has not identified any country willing to accept Palestinians from Gaza. Defense officials expressed surprise at the urgency of the discussion, noting past failures and the need for complex international coordination.
One security source suggested the renewed discussion could be a form of "compensation" for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from US President Donald Trump following an agreement with Iran. However, a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee dismissed the plan as lacking political and international feasibility, citing opposition from Arab states and the international community.
The idea of expelling Palestinians from Gaza has been promoted by senior Israeli figures, including Netanyahu, ministers Israel Katz, Bezalel Smotrich, and Itamar Ben Gvir. Katz established a directorate for "voluntary emigration" within his ministry in 2025. A poll indicated over 70 percent of Likud voters support expelling the Palestinian population.
Separately, Likud lawmaker Nissim Vaturi, deputy speaker of the Knesset, called for the expulsion of all Arabs from the West Bank, stating that Jewish Israelis "will not be able to live here in peace" otherwise. He advocated for strengthening Jewish settlement in the region and emphasized that "they all need to be expelled."