by Jerusalem Post Staff
"The plan will include exit options through land crossings as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air," Katz said.
 |
Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF on Thursday to prepare a plan allowing for Gazans wishing to leave the Gaza Strip voluntarily.
"The plan will include exit options through land crossings as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air," Katz said.
He welcomed US President Donald Trump's suggestion to relocate Gazans presented on Tuesday following his meeting in Washington with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite Katz’s instructions to the IDF to prepare, there have been no indications that a large number of Gazans are willing to leave Gaza, and the key countries Trump wants to accept them – Jordan and Egypt – have repeatedly condemned the plan and rejected any possibility of taking any significant number of Palestinians in.
The US, Israel, and the IDF do not have the legal authority to force other countries to take on the population of Gaza, so all the IDF can do is avoid getting in the way if, against all signs, such a move starts to take place.
The defense minister stated that Hamas had utilized Gazans as human shields, arrogated humanitarian aid for its own purpose, and barred them from leaving.
He added, "Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to exit and emigrate, as is customary everywhere in the world.
The Defense Minister noted the legal duty of countries to allow the entry of Gazans. "Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have leveled false accusations and blood libels against Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territory.
"Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse to do so. There are countries like Canada, which has a structured immigration program and has previously expressed willingness to take in residents from Gaza," Katz added.
Spain, Ireland, and Norway have all harshly criticized Israel, while often failing to put IDF military actions during the war in context of Hamas’s use of human shields.
However, unless the Gazans themselves and with some kind of UN multilateral support, start large scale requests to be relocated all over the world, those countries currently have no obligation to take on Gazans who do not seek to move.
If Israel tried to forcefully transfer Gaza’s population, which neither Trump nor the Israeli government has yet broached, most legal scholars would accuse Jerusalem of war crimes and ethnic cleansing.
Although Israel already faces war crimes allegations before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, the alleged crimes there so far with any immediate relevance are far smaller and narrower than the accusation would become in the case of a forced transfer.
Trump's plan
On Tuesday, Trump told The Jerusalem Post that his plan to relocate the residents of Gaza "will happen."
He asserted Jordan and Egypt “won’t tell [him] no” with regard to welcoming Gazans, adding, "I want to remove all the residents of Gaza.”
Immediately after he said this, all of the Arab governments reiterated their rejection of transferring Gaza’s population.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
Jerusalem Post Staff
Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-840907
No comments:
Post a Comment