Katz orders IDF to prepare plan enabling Gazans to leave the Strip voluntarily

Inspired by US President Donald Trump’s relocation vision, Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the IDF to prepare a plan to enable Gazans to leave the Strip voluntarily, Katz’s office says.

Katz is quoted as welcoming Trump’s “courageous plan, which could enable a wide swath of the population in Gaza to leave to various places around the world.”

Katz also says: “Hamas used Gaza residents as human shields and built terror infrastructure in the heart of the population, and is now holding them hostage, extorting money from them by use of humanitarian aid, and preventing them from leaving Gaza.”

He says he has ordered the military to ready a plan by which any resident who wants it can emigrate to any place that agrees to absorb them.

Katz specifically mentions potential destinations such as Spain, Ireland, Norway and other countries that have leveled “false accusations” regarding Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, arguing that if these nations refuse to accept Palestinians, “their hypocrisy will be exposed.”

He also mentions Canada, which has “an organized immigration program” and has “previously voiced a willingness to absorb Gazan residents.”

The plan would provide for exit through land crossings, as well as “special arrangements” for departure via maritime and aerial routes.

“Gaza’s residents should be allowed the freedom to exit and emigrate, as is the practice anywhere around the world,” Katz argues, adding that Trump’s plan could advance “rehabilitation plans in a demilitarized Gaza that poses no threat in the post-Hamas era, which will take many years.”