Israel has selected two potential exit points to allow Palestinians leave Gaza in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to resettle the Strip’s population.
At a briefing on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces presented Defense Minister Israel Katz with a draft plan for safe passage, consisting of Ramon Airport, some 250 kilometers away from Gaza near Eilat, and Ashdod Port, about an hour’s drive up the Mediterranean coast from the Strip, according to an unnamed Israeli official cited in a report from Bloomberg on Friday.
As things stand, the source continued, the military is assessing which of the five land crossings between the Strip and Israel would serve as a safe passageway with security screening.
The idea of resettlement, suggested by Trump at a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House on Tuesday, received the backing of most Israelis, according to a Channel 12 News survey.
However, while 69% supported the plan, with 18% opposing it, only 36% believed it was practical, as Arab countries and some Western governments voiced their opposition to the idea.
Both Egypt and Jordan, named by Trump as potential destinations for the resettlement of Gazans, vehemently rejected the proposal.
In Israel, reports emerged that OC Military Intelligence Directorate Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder issued a warning about the proposal, warning that it could trigger violence in Judea and Samaria.
This propelled Katz to release a statement on Friday, saying, “There will be no reality in which IDF officers will speak out against U.S. President Trump’s important plan regarding Gaza, and against the directives of the political echelon.”
The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit was put in charge of the planning, the report read.
During a meeting on Friday at the Oval Office with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump seemingly placed caveats on his proposal, saying there was “no rush” to implement it.
Trump said that his comments about Gaza being turned over from Israel to the U.S. as a “real estate transaction” have been “very well received,” and did not necessitate American soldiers being deployed to the Strip.
“We’re not talking about boots on the ground or anything, but I think the fact that we’re there, that we have an investment there, [will go] a long way to creating peace. We don’t want to see everybody move back and then leaving again in 10 years. We want to see stability and it would bring stability in the area,” the U.S. president said.
Voluntary departure
On Thursday, Katz said that he had instructed the IDF to prepare a plan to facilitate the voluntary departure of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
“The plan will include exit options at land crossings as well as special arrangements for exit by sea and air,” he said. “I welcome U.S. President Donald Trump’s bold plan. The residents of Gaza should be allowed to enjoy the freedom of exit and migration as is customary everywhere in the world.”
Katz went on to state that “countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway and others, which have made false allegations against Israel’s actions in Gaza, should by any account allow every Gazan resident to enter their territory. Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse to do so. There are countries like Canada, which has a regulated immigration program, that have expressed a desire in the past to absorb residents from Gaza.”
Israel has been engaged in a devastating war in Gaza ever since Hamas carried out the single-day deadliest attack in Israel’s history on Oct. 7, 2023. The war has entered a ceasefire, hostages-terrorists exchange agreement phase over the past three weeks, as Washington seeks a permanent end to the conflict.
