Israel's defense minister said Thursday that he had instructed his military to prepare a plan to allow Palestinians to voluntarily leave the Gaza Strip, after his country's leadership embraced President Donald Trump's widely condemned remarks in which he said the United States may seek ownership of the territory.
Welcoming what he called Trump's "bold initiative," Israel Katz said in a statement Thursday that Palestinians in Gaza "should be granted the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is customary everywhere in the world." He said the plan would include "exit options" for Palestinians to leave Gaza via land crossings, with the possibility of "special arrangements" for departures by sea and air.
Katz's comments came after Trump on Tuesday suggested to the press and visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. should take a "long-term ownership position" of Gaza and "develop" the enclave, which he had earlier in the day referred to as a "demolition site."
Trump made contradictory comments on whether he foresaw Palestinians being able to live in the enclave, with White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday seeking to clarify his statements.
The president is "committed to rebuilding Gaza and to temporarily relocating" Palestinians during those reconstruction efforts, she said, adding that Trump has not committed to sending U.S. troops to Gaza as part of the effort.
Trump's remarks were widely rejected for their apparent dismissal of Palestinians' long pursuit of internationally recognized statehood. The Human rights organization Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the plan amounted to an "intent to escalate ethnic cleansing in Gaza."
Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, Netanyahu praised Trump's remarks, adding that “the actual idea of allowing first Gazans who want to leave, to leave, what’s wrong with that?”
Katz's plan would represent a major policy shift for Israel, which — along with Egypt — has maintained a land, air and sea blockade on the enclave since 2007, when Hamas took power two years after Israel withdrew from the territory following 38 years of occupation.
Barred from leaving the territory without Israeli-issued exit permits, Palestinians have effectively been trapped in a war zone.
More than 47,500 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials, since Israel launched its military offensive following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks that killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 others taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
Those who have been able to leave Gaza during the war have feared not being allowed by Israel to return, a concern underpinning fears over Trump's plan.
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When discussing his instructions to the Israel Defense Forces, Katz said countries such as Spain, Ireland and Norway, which moved to formally recognize Palestinian statehood last year as they condemned Israel's offensive in Gaza, should be "legally obligated to allow Gaza residents to enter their territory."
The Israeli defense minister's plan was welcomed by figures on Israel's far right, such as Itamar Ben-Gvir, who resigned from his role as national security minister last month over Israel's ceasefire truce with Hamas.
"The real solution for Gaza is no longer dreams of 'reconstruction' and a return to the previous situation, but a fundamental change in reality," Ben-Gvir, who has expressed support for the Israeli resettlement of Gaza, said in a post on X on Thursday.
In Gaza, Palestinians have expressed outrage over the threat Trump's plan poses to the future recognition of Palestinian statehood.
"We spent a year and four months in the war and did not leave our country, so is it expected that we will leave it now?" Abu Saad Al-Daada told NBC News' crew on the ground Wednesday in Khan Younis.
"He is crazy," Daada, 56, said of Trump. "He has to find another solution."
