Key facts
- Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has proposed a plan for the "voluntary emigration" of approximately 1.86 million Palestinians from Gaza over seven years.
- The plan, titled "National Work Plan for Voluntary Emigration from the Gaza Strip", is estimated to cost $20 billion over seven years.
- Ben Gvir intends to make this proposal a condition for joining any future Israeli coalition government.
- The plan requires "international partnership" for countries to accept expelled Palestinians.
- Ben Gvir recently deleted an AI-generated video depicting emaciated Palestinian prisoners after facing backlash.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has outlined a plan for the "voluntary emigration" of approximately 1.86 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip over seven years, a proposal he intends to make a condition for joining any future Israeli coalition government. The plan, titled "National Work Plan for Voluntary Emigration from the Gaza Strip", estimates a total cost of $20 billion, with over $3 billion projected for the first year.
Ben Gvir claims the plan is "realistic" and that countries are "ready" to accept Palestinians, though he did not name specific nations. The proposal suggests expelling 250,000 Palestinians in the first year, escalating to 1.11 million within three years. This initiative follows similar sentiments from Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, who indicated that Israel was seeking approval from the Trump administration to displace Palestinians from Gaza.
The announcement comes after Ben Gvir deleted an AI-generated video depicting emaciated Palestinian prisoners, which had drawn widespread backlash. The forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is considered a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel will not withdraw from occupied areas of Gaza.