From Israel has no plans ‘to expel or to deport’ Palestinians from Gaza, Sa’ar says
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Israel is not planning to expel or deport any Palestinians from the Gaza Strip by force, says Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
“We are not planning to expel or to deport anyone from [the] Gaza Strip,” he says during a press conference in Ljubljana, where Sa’ar is opening an Israeli embassy in the Balkan country.
“If someone wants to immigrate from his own will and there is a country which is ready to accept him,” Sa’ar continues, “as it happens from any conflict area in the world, we will not oppose that.”
“But we will not force anyone against his will,” says Sa’ar.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar: We are not planning to expel or deport anyone from the Gaza Strip. If someone wants to immigrate willingly and a country is ready to accept him, we will not oppose that.#Israel #Gaza #Palestinians #WestBank #Hamas #MiddleEast pic.twitter.com/EwWsjHOchE
— The Geo-Political Arena (@GPoliticalArena) September 9, 2026
Senior members of the government, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have pushed Israel to encourage Gazans to leave the war-torn territory.
Last week, Defense Minister Israel Katz said plans to facilitate the mass emigration of Palestinians from Gaza remain under discussion and were merely “frozen” by US President Donald Trump, not taken off the table entirely.
“There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration,” Katz added.
Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.
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