Amir Tibon, HAARETZ
This denial is welcome for Israel’s Western allies, following both coded and explicit references to the transfer of Palestinians from Gaza by multiple Israeli ministers
A spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that Israel had no plans to move the Palestinian population out of the Gaza Strip, calling such claims “outrageous and false accusations.”
Eylon Levy made the comment in a talk with the foreign media, during which he was asked about remarks made by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi earlier in the day. “What we are seeing in Gaza is not just simply the killing of innocent people and the destruction of their livelihoods [by Israel] but a systematic effort to empty Gaza of its people,” Safadi said at a conference in Doha.
Safadi’s remarks echo those of diplomats in other countries who have expressed concern that Israel may try to expel Palestinians from Gaza, or encourage them to migrate to other countries. In recent weeks, Israeli cabinet ministers have expressed support for such a step. The Israeli Embassy in Washington last month was forced to deny that an opinion piece by Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel proposing “voluntary transfer” of Gazans represented government policy.
Diplomats from three countries that have supported Israel since the start of the Gaza war told Haaretz that they had raised the issue in discussions with Israeli officials in recent weeks. Public remarks by Israeli ministers were not the sole basis for their concern. At least one Western government expressed fear that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a noted ally of Netanyahu, was exploring the option of encouraging emigration. Israel has told these governments there are no such plans.
Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, at a debate in the UN last week.Credit: Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Cairo has also expressed concern about any Israeli attempt to push Gaza’s Palestinian residents into its territory. The issue came up in discussions between Egyptian officials and the Biden administration, as Israeli forces expanded their Gaza offensive into the southern half of the enclave, pushing them closer to the Egyptian border.
After a meeting between U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi last week, the White House reiterated its opposition to any attempt to deport Gazans or encourage their emigration to another country. Moreover, Washington has made clear it opposes any attempt to revive Israeli settlement in Gaza, to alter Gaza’s borders or to establish a permanent occupation by Israeli forces.
Today, @VP Kamala Harris met with President @AlsisiOfficial in Dubai on the sidelines of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (#COP28). The Vice President thanked President Sisi for his efforts in securing a deal between Israel and… pic.twitter.com/2HUi6yegeZ— U.S. Embassy Cairo (@USEmbassyCairo) December 2, 2023
The denial voiced by Levy on Sunday was more forceful and, unlike last month’s embassy announcement, it was made in his name and not on behalf of an unnamed “official.” Levy called the Jordanian foreign minister’s claims “outrageous and false” and said that Israel was only encouraging the Gazan population to leave the principal combat areas, but not to leave Gaza itself.
In response, one Western diplomat told Haaretz that Levy’s explicit statement was encouraging, but that if Israel wants to reassure its friends, more senior officials should make the denial, and in Hebrew.
There is no way Israel should accept what no other nation — not even co-religionist Islamist nations–is willing to accept. The Gazan terrorists are not humane and integral to the Islamist terrorist hordes. Let them go somewhere else, but nowhere near the current borders of Israel where they can shoot rockets at civilian targets or break down fences to slaughter, rape, and torture our people. Obama-Biden are doing their best to weaken and break the will of Israel. They ignore Israel’s right to our Land before that of the Arabs (so-called “Palestinians”) who falsely claim to be indigenous people in the Land of Israel. Israel is a sovereign nation and people. No to a two-state “solution” . Gaza is Gush Katif and Jewish territory. End of discussion.
Kettle them into one big Arab hillbilly ghetto up against the Egyptian border and extensively land mine the rest of the Gaza region to keep them in.
Ultimately, Egypt will become fed up and will cleanse their population.
But that will be OK since it’s only Arab on Arab violence.
Nobody wants to take in any Palestinians.