Israeli Minister Proposes ‘Resettling’ Gaza Residents Outside the Strip

Palestinians are displaced from north to south Gaza. (AFP)
Palestinians are displaced from north to south Gaza. (AFP)
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Israeli Minister Proposes ‘Resettling’ Gaza Residents Outside the Strip

Palestinians are displaced from north to south Gaza. (AFP)
Palestinians are displaced from north to south Gaza. (AFP)

Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel said on Sunday the international community should promote "the voluntary resettlement" of Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip "instead of sending money to reconstruct" the enclave.

Writing in the Jerusalem Post, Gamliel proposed an option "to promote the voluntary resettlement of Palestinians in Gaza, for humanitarian reasons, outside of the Strip."

The Likud minister also criticized the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

"Instead of funneling money to rebuild Gaza or to the failed UNRWA, the international community can assist in the costs of resettlement, helping the people of Gaza build new lives in their new host countries," she continued.

She said Israel has tried many different solutions, such as withdrawing from the settlements in the Gaza Strip, conflict management, and building high walls, but they all failed.

"Gaza has long been thought of as a problem without an answer," Gamliel wrote, adding: "It could be a win-win solution: a win for those civilians of Gaza who seek a better life and a win for Israel after this devastating tragedy."

On Oct. 7, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack in Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing about 240 persons.

Since then, the Israeli army has been relentlessly bombing the Strip to eliminate Hamas.

According to the Hamas government, at least 13,000 people were killed, two-thirds of whom are women and children.

After 44 days of war, more than 1.6 million Gazans are displaced, equivalent to two-thirds of the population of the enclave.

About 80 percent of Gaza's population are refugees or the children and grandchildren of refugees who left their homes during the Nakba during the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Various officials, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have warned of a "second Nakba" in wake of the Israeli attack.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.