Despite the growing conviction that US President Donald Trump's plan to displace 1.8 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip is unrealistic and unrealizable, officials in Israel are seeking to develop practical plans and measures to legalize and implement it.
At the request of the Israeli cabinet, the army has started to formulate a plan for the voluntary departure of Palestinians from Gaza.
The plan will include exit options through land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea via the Ashdod Bahri port and by air via the Ramon Airport.
The army will also set conditions to guarantee the enduring departure of Palestinians by “prohibiting the return of those who do not sign a pledge to reject terrorism.”
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry is setting a budget to cover the costs of deportation and to allocate funds for Palestinians who will renounce the right of return.
Israel’s far-right Otzma Yehudit Party, led by former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, submitted a bill to the Knesset proposing financial incentives for Gaza residents who choose to leave.
The ministerial committee for legislation was scheduled to study the bill on Sunday. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Ben-Gvir to postpone the discussion for two weeks until the necessary preparations are made.
According to Israel's Channel 12, Ben-Gvir agreed to a request from the PM to postpone the discussion of the bill. But he called for an immediate implementation of what he called a “voluntary migration program” for Palestinians in Gaza to encourage their deportation.
He argued that Israel should never have allowed fuel and humanitarian aid into Gaza, alleging that it benefits Hamas.
“We cannot always act under pressure,” he said. “It is true that standing up to the President of the United States is not easy, but I expected the Prime Minister to tell the truth instead of promoting stories.”
“We need to launch an initiative to encourage voluntary migration today. President Trump says there is time, but for Israel’s interests, we have no time to waste,” he added.
Gen-Gvir’s bill stipulates that any Gaza resident who opts to emigrate will receive a financial aid package determined by the Israeli Ministry of Finance.
The right-wing Israeli Mida website claimed that official figures put the number of Palestinians from Gaza entering Egypt since October 7 at 115,000.
Other Israeli researchers say that at least 1,012,713 Arabs left Palestine from Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and the Gaza Strip between 1967 and 2024, a silent phenomenon that should be encouraged.
In an article published by Walla, researcher Eli Ashkenazi said that since the end of January 1951, Israel has been engaged in a series of plans to displace the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, by force or by material temptations, but that those plans have failed.
Ashkenazi recalled that at the time, Israel engaged in a plan to resettle refugees in Sinai. “This plan didn't pass. Israel therefore thought about settling 20,000 Palestinians from Gaza in Libya and the same in Iraq,” he wrote, adding that this plan didn't work either.
