Israel is set to establish a government agency that would oversee the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Monday, March 24, 2025, that the agency is being built following the Israeli security cabinet’s approval of the plan over the weekend.
The move follows suggestions from United States President Donald Trump that residents of Gaza should be moved to other countries, which rights groups and critics worldwide have slammed as ethnic cleansing.
The security cabinet reportedly approved the proposal by Defence Minister Israel Katz to set up the agency over the weekend.
The spokeswoman confirmed that an authority tasked with “preparing the voluntary departure of residents of the Gaza Strip to third countries in a safe and controlled manner” was being established.
She noted that this will see the administration of emigration placed under the control of the Defence Ministry.
According to Netanyahu’s spokeswoman, people willing to leave the sealed-off Gaza Strip should be allowed to do so “in compliance with Israeli and international law and in line with US President Donald Trump’s vision.”
Israeli nationalists have long sought the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
They have pushed harder on the idea amid the war with Hamas, while the Israeli government has been accused by civil organisations of obstructing humanitarian aid into the enclave in a bid to encourage people to leave.
Egypt and other Arab countries have repeatedly insisted on a “two-state solution” to the conflict, and “the necessity of establishing an independent Palestinian state.”
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s spokeswoman did not specify which third countries might be willing to cooperate with Israel in implementing the plan.
Netanyahu has previously said that he was “committed” to Trump’s plan “for the creation of a different Gaza” while promising that, after the war, “there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” ruling the territory.
Katz had instructed the military in February to draw up plans to implement Trump’s proposal for the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza.
Surge In Settler Homes Approval
Separately, Israeli anti-settlement group, Peace Now disclosed that there has been an “unprecedented surge” in approvals for new settler homes in the occupied West Bank since US President Donald Trump returned to office.
The Peace Now group, which closely tracks settlement growth, said plans for 10,503 housing units have advanced since the start of the year, compared to just 9,971 in all of 2024.
Another 1,344 homes are set to be approved on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
During his first term, Trump strongly backed Israel’s claims to territories seized in war, at times upending decades of American foreign policy. Previous US administrations have admonished Israel over settlement expansion while taking little action to curb it.
Israel has built more than 100 settlements that are now home to 700,000 settlers with Israeli citizenship.
The three million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centres.
According to the Israeli anti-settlement group, tt seems that the government is seeking to “fill the planning reserves” with as many approved plans as possible, ensuring the potential for extensive future development.
“Instead of caring for the hostages and ensuring Israel’s security, the Netanyahu-Smotrich government is deepening the conflict and further sabotaging any chance for a peaceful resolution. The government is pushing forward plans on an unprecedented scale across the West Bank, that will ultimately come at a great cost to all Israelis in the form of prolonged violence and enormous financial burdens.”
Peace Now
It added that the vast majority of approved plans in recent months involve settlements deep within the West Bank, with far-reaching implications for Palestinian territorial continuity and the viability of a future Palestinian state.
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