'Israel' contacting countries to facilitate ethnically cleansing Gaza
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Resistance party Hamas says that Netanyahu's plans are "ridiculous" and aim to prolong the war and cover the Israeli war failures in Gaza.
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A Palestinian woman carries her baby surrounded by other families evacuating an area in northern Gaza after their homes were destroyed by Israeli strikes in November 2023. (AFP)
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Monday that the occupation entity is in contact with countries to persuade them to agree to take in Palestinian "refugees from Gaza," Israeli media reported citing the premier as telling members of his Likud Party.
His statement came in response to party member and lawmaker Danny Danon, who, along with MK Ram Ben Barak of the Yesh Atid party, was promoting this agenda.
According to the report, Danon told Netanyahu that a team must be established to manage "those who want to leave Gaza."
Read more: 83% of Israelis support ethnic cleansing of Gazans: Survey
Netanyahu selling illusions for war purposes
Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas commented on the Israeli Prime Minister's remarks, saying his plan to pass a "voluntary immigration" scheme for the people from the Gaza Strip is ridiculous and aims to compensate for the Israeli war failure.
"Netanyahu is trying to sell illusions to prolong the aggression after he and his army failed to achieve their goals," the party said.
"Our Palestinian people affirmed their decisive stance by rejecting deportation and displacement, and that there is no emigration and no choice but to remain steadfast on our land."
Systemic displacement and ethnic cleansing
Since day one of the war on the Strip, the occupation entity's top officials publicly declared that one of the objectives was to forcefully displace its residents to other countries, most notably Jordan and Egypt.
Read more: Jordan won't allow forced displacement of Palestinians by 'Israel': FM
This plan saw the Israeli army carry out the bloodiest aggression since WW2 on the besieged Strip, which included the killing of over 20,600 Palestinians, most of whom were children and women, mass destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and other vital infrastructure necessary for survival.
One of the measures employed by the Israelis was to force residents of northern Gaza to move to the southern part of the Strip, claiming that they are safer in the north. This propaganda was debunked soon after the occupation army launched a ground offensive in southern Gaza.
Nevertheless, every effort to execute this plan encountered the resilience of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands among them steadfastly declined to vacate the northern Strip, opting instead to stay in their homes, even in the face of the catastrophic conditions imposed by the entity and the daily ongoing massacres.
Furthermore, the plot to forcefully displace Palestinians was criticized by "Israel's" main allies, including the United States, and countries that are supposed to "host the refugees" such as Jordan and Egypt.
Read more: Oct. 7 docs exposed forced displacement plans of Palestinians: Iran FM
The UN warns of a second Nakba
Last week, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned that "Israel" is facilitating the large-scale displacement of Gaza residents towards Egypt via the border.
In a Saturday article featured in the Los Angeles Times, Philippe Lazzarini highlighted the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. He emphasized the increasing concentration of displaced civilians, who, escaping war, were moving closer to the northern and southern borders.
"The developments we are witnessing indicate attempts to transfer Palestinians to Egypt, regardless of whether they reside there or are resettled elsewhere," he pointed out, adding that the United Nations and numerous member states, including the US, opposed the forced displacement of Gazans from the Strip.
"If this path continues, it will lead to what many are already calling the Second Nakba. Gaza will no longer be a land for the Palestinians," referring to the Palestinian Nakba when 760,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced during the establishment of the "State of Israel".
Egypt has the tools to fight the Israeli agenda
Earlier this month, the chairperson of the Egyptian State Information Service announced that Cario categorically rejects the Israeli policy of forced displacement of the people of Gaza whether within the Strip or across the border into Eygpt's Sinai.
In a press briefing, Diaa Rashwan reiterated his country's rejection of the Israeli agenda centered around the forced displacement of the Strip's residents. Rashwan also rejected attempts to transfer Palestinians to Sinai or pressure them to move through war.
He pointed out that the occupation has turned the Gaza Strip into a battlefield, especially in the northern areas, to force Palestinians to leave their homes and head toward so-called "safe zones" in Rafah, south of the Strip. He explained that these areas lack essential needs, such as water, food, and shelter.
Cairo "will not allow the passage of this plan regardless of the results, and no one can impose a fait accompli by force," he stressed, warning that "the Egyptian state has all the tools that enable it to preserve its land and national security."
