عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Israelis Take Action to Legalize Trump's Plan for Gaza

Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 09 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 09 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
TT
TT

Israelis Take Action to Legalize Trump's Plan for Gaza

Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 09 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 09 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

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.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israel Military Says will Keep Operating in South Lebanon

A child flashes a victory sign as he and his family return to their village with their belongings on a highway near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A child flashes a victory sign as he and his family return to their village with their belongings on a highway near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
TT
TT

Israel Military Says will Keep Operating in South Lebanon

A child flashes a victory sign as he and his family return to their village with their belongings on a highway near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A child flashes a victory sign as he and his family return to their village with their belongings on a highway near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The Israeli military said on Thursday it will continue operating in southern Lebanon and "remove threats" beyond its so-called security zone, after the US and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war, including in Lebanon.

The military published a map of its declared "security zone" -- which runs some 10 kilometres (six miles) inside Lebanese territory.

It said troops would continue to be deployed there "to remove threats and strengthen the defence of Israel's northern residents".

In a later statement, an Israeli military official said the army "will continue to remove threats to soldiers and the civilians of the State of Israel that are identified beyond the security zone".

The announcement came after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday meant to end the Middle East war, with fighting supposed to be halted on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Hours after the agreement was signed, Lebanese state media reported one person killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon.

Israel's military meanwhile announced the death of one of its soldiers the night before during an incident in south Lebanon that also left seven other troops wounded.

The military official on Thursday called on the Lebanese Armed Forces to operate in coordination with Israeli forces and urged Lebanese civilians to avoid entering the security zone.

Since Iran and the US announced they had reached an agreement on Monday, there has been a sharp decrease in the level of violence in Lebanon.

Lebanon and Israel have been holding direct talks in Washington since April, seeking to end the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and separate their conflict from the wider regional war.

"Further steps are still being discussed within the framework of direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon," the Israeli military official said on Thursday, adding that "the representatives will reconvene next week".

Arab World

Israel Seized More Land from Neighbors since 2023 than it Has in Decades

An Israeli soldier occupies a military position overlooking the so-called Yellow Line in the central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli soldier occupies a military position overlooking the so-called Yellow Line in the central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
TT
TT

Israel Seized More Land from Neighbors since 2023 than it Has in Decades

An Israeli soldier occupies a military position overlooking the so-called Yellow Line in the central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli soldier occupies a military position overlooking the so-called Yellow Line in the central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Over the past two and a half years, Israel has taken control of swaths of Gaza, Lebanon and Syria that amount to its biggest expansion of militarily occupied lands in decades.

It is an area larger than many major cities — roughly 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) — and Israel has said it plans to stay indefinitely.

The land seizures began in the aftermath of Hamas’ 2023 cross-border attack, which ignited wars on multiple fronts. The Israeli military took over large portions of Gaza as part of a broad invasion, and later seized control of chunks of Lebanon and Syria.

Israel calls these areas “buffer zones” and says they are needed to prevent future attacks by militant groups.

In Gaza and Lebanon, Israeli land seizures and evacuation warnings have pushed out more than 3 million people, and troops have demolished towns and neighborhoods, creating large, depopulated zones, The AP news reported.

The “buffer zones” — equivalent to roughly 5% of Israel’s area soon after its founding — are not new borders, which require an agreement between two countries. But many fear these changes could become long-lasting. Iran has made Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon a condition for ending its war with the US.

Since its founding in 1948, Israel has never had clear borders. Its boundaries have shifted through wars, annexations, ceasefires and peace agreements.

Here is a deeper look at the Israeli expansions:

Lebanon Israel and Hezbollah have fought multiple wars since the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group was formed in 1982.

Israel occupied much of southern Lebanon between 1982–2000, saying it was necessary to protect northern Israeli communities. After Israel’s withdrawal in 2000, the UN drew up a boundary between the two countries.

A year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah ended with an October 2024 ceasefire. That truce collapsed in March, days into the US-Israeli war against Iran. Following missile and drone attacks by Hezbollah, Israel launched a ground invasion into Lebanon.

When fighting was halted in April, Israel said the military would occupy an area up to 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep.

Israel now holds 608 square kilometers (234 square miles) in Lebanon, according to experts with the Carnegie Middle East Center.

Evacuation warnings have forced about 1.2 million Lebanese to flee, and Israel has warned civilians against returning.

Hezbollah has condemned Israel’s presence inside Lebanon, and the Lebanese government has called for Israel to withdraw.

Gaza Israel seized the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the 1967 Mideast War. It unilaterally withdrew troops and settlers from the territory in 2005.

Hamas militants overran the territory two years later, and their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel launched the devastating war in Gaza.

When the Gaza ceasefire went into effect in October 2025, Israel withdrew its troops to a zone demarcated by the so-called “yellow line,” giving it control of just over half the strip.

Almost the entire population of Gaza, more than 2 million people, has been squeezed into vast, squalid tent cities dependent on international aid. The military has bulldozed or demolished wide swaths of the zone, and the area, where most of Gaza’s agricultural land lies, is inaccessible to Palestinians.

Israeli forces are meant to complete a fuller withdrawal under the US-brokered ceasefire. But the US-backed diplomat overseeing the truce says progress is deadlocked over the central sticking point of disarming Hamas.

With the ceasefire process stuck, Israel has since moved the line west and expanded its control to more than 60% of Gaza — 194 square kilometers (75 square miles), according to rights group Gisha. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli control of Gaza will increase to 70%.

Syria Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it -- a move not widely recognized by the international community.

After the 1973 Mideast war, the UN created a buffer zone in southern Syria next to the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, patrolled by a UN force of about 1,100 troops.

In December 2024, after the surprise downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israel moved its troops into the UN buffer zone, saying it was concerned that Syrian opposition could attack Israel. It also wanted to disrupt Iran’s ability to smuggle weapons through Syria to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

The UN and other critics say the seizure of land violates a 1974 ceasefire agreement. Civilians in the area have not been instructed to evacuate but have faced checkpoints and tension, with occasional clashes between Israeli soldiers and villagers.

Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has called on Israel to withdraw from the area that the UN says is 235 square kilometers (91 square miles).

West Bank Since capturing the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, Israel has built well over 100 settlements across the occupied territory.

The government has approved 47 new settlements and formalized or expanded 55 existing settlements just since 2022, according to Peace Now.

After the war in Gaza began, Israel expanded its military operations in the West Bank, displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.

Some of the new settlements approved recently are retroactive legalizations of tiny outposts, while others are neighborhoods of existing settlements.

The precipitous growth of settlements stems from settler leaders and supporters holding key positions in Israel’s government and a US administration that is largely pro-settlement.

The international community considers them illegal. The expanded settlements have put enormous restrictions on the daily lives of Palestinians, who view them as the main barrier to a lasting peace agreement because they are built on lands they seek for a future state.

Arab World

Israeli Official: Israel in Talks with US over Continuing its Lebanon Troop Deployment

FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises following an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises following an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
TT
TT

Israeli Official: Israel in Talks with US over Continuing its Lebanon Troop Deployment

FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises following an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises following an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

Israel is holding negotiations with the US as it seeks to continue its deployment of troops in southern Lebanon, two Israeli officials including a senior Israeli official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Reuters on Thursday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, made the comments a day after the US and ‌Iran signed ‌an interim pact that calls ‌for ⁠parties to ensure "the territorial ⁠integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon."

Israel expanded its invasion of southern Lebanon after the Lebanese militia Hezbollah opened fire at Israel on March 2 in support of its ally Iran. It has since staged a devastating ⁠air and ground campaign that it says ‌aims at rooting ‌out Hezbollah.

Israel describes the territory it has seized ‌in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria as "buffer zones" between ‌it and its enemies, a core facet of Israel's recent security policy. Netanyahu has rejected calls for Israel to withdraw from those territories.

The senior ‌Israeli official told Reuters that Israel was "conducting stubborn negotiations" with Washington ⁠over continuing its ⁠deployment of troops in southern Lebanon.

The official said Israel would not back down on its positions, including keeping troops deployed in the area south of Lebanon's Litani River.

A second Israeli official told Reuters that the outcome of the talks would ultimately depend on whether US President Donald Trump "decides to force the issue" by threatening repercussions if Israel does not abide by the interim Iran pact's terms.

Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.