On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said President Trump’s plan to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza was a condition to end Israel’s genocidal war on the besieged territory.
“I am prepared to end the war in Gaza, under clear conditions that will ensure the safety of Israel – all the hostages come home, Hamas lays down its arms, steps down from power, its leadership is exiled from the Strip … Gaza is totally disarmed, and we carry out the Trump plan. A plan that is so correct and so revolutionary,” Netanyahu said, according to The Cradle.
Trump has repeatedly called for the removal of Gaza’s population as part of his plan for the US to take over the territory and has previously said there would be no right of return for Palestinians. Netanyahu’s comments on Wednesday marked the first time he said the expulsion of the Palestinian population was a condition to end the war.
It’s been clear since October 2023 that the Israeli government wanted ethnic cleansing in Gaza, and Trump’s calls have emboldened Netanyahu and other officials to pursue a plan to carry it out. It still remains unclear where the Palestinians would go. Netanyahu recently told a Knesset committee that the lack of countries willing to take in Gaza’s population was the “main problem” preventing “emigration.”
Netanyahu also vowed on Wednesday that Israel would fully occupy Gaza. “All of Gaza’s territories will be under Israeli security control, and Hamas will be totally defeated,” he said.
The Israeli leader also said Israel would set up a “sterile zone” in southern Gaza for the civilian population. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said that under Israel’s plans for its current military offensive, the civilian population will be “concentrated” into a tiny area of the south and then pressured to leave Gaza.
“The Gazan citizens will be concentrated in the south. They will be totally despairing, understanding that there is no hope and nothing to look for in Gaza, and will be looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places,” Smotrich said.
