Zein Khalil
26 January 2025•Update: 26 January 2025
JERUSALEM
Israeli ministers expressed support on Sunday for US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “clean out” the Gaza Strip and resettle Palestinians in Jordan and Egypt.
“After 76 years during which the majority of Gaza’s population has been forcibly kept in harsh conditions to preserve the aspiration of destroying the State of Israel, the idea of helping them find other places to start new, better lives is an excellent idea,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told Israeli Channel 12.
“For years, politicians have proposed impractical solutions like dividing the land and establishing a Palestinian state. Only out-of-the-box thinking and new solutions will bring about peace and security,” he added.
“I will work with the prime minister and the cabinet to develop an operational plan to implement this as soon as possible,” Smotrich said.
Former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also backed Trump’s call for Palestinian resettlement in neighboring countries.
"I commend US President Trump for the initiative to transfer residents from Gaza to Jordan and Egypt,” Ben-Gvir said on his X account.
“One of our demands from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to promote voluntary emigration. When the president of the world’s greatest superpower, Trump, personally brings up this idea, it is worth the Israeli government implementing it – promote emigration now!”
Describing Gaza as a "demolition site," Trump called on Saturday to “just clear out” the Palestinian enclave and resettle Palestinians in Jordan and Egypt.
The proposal came a week after a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.
The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi
