An Israeli proposal to move Gazans into a so-called "humanitarian city" has come under intense fire, slammed by critics as a costly distraction at best, and at worst a potential step towards forcing Palestinians off of their land.
Defence Minister Israel Katz first unveiled the plan during a briefing with reporters last Monday. It envisions building from scratch a closed zone in southern Gaza during a potential 60-day ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas, currently under negotiation in Qatar.
According to Katz, the area would initially house around 600,000 displaced people from southern Gaza and include four aid distribution sites managed by international organisations.
The entire civilian population of Gaza -- more than two million people -- would eventually be relocated there.
Critics, however, have questioned both the feasibility and ethics of the plan, with Israel's opposition leader citing its astronomical cost, and one expert pointing to lack of infrastructure in the area necessary to accommodate so many people.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has described the proposed facility as a "concentration camp", while Britain's minister for the Middle East and North Africa has said he is "appalled" by the idea
"Palestinian territory must not be reduced," the UK's Hamish Falconer said on X. "Civilians must be able to return to their communities."
- 'Extremist delusions' -
Nearly 21 months of war have devastated much of the Gaza Strip, displacing most of its population, creating dire shortages of food and other essentials, and killing 58,026 people, most of them civilians, according to the territory's health ministry.
The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war led to 1,219 deaths, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures
New arrivals to the proposed facility would undergo security screening to ensure they are not affiliated with Hamas, and once admitted, they would not be permitted to leave.
The Israeli military would provide security "from a distance", Katz has said.
However, the criticism of the plan reportedly extends even to Israel's own security establishment.
Local media reported that army chief Eyal Zamir lambasted the proposal at a cabinet meeting, arguing it would divert focus from the military's two core objectives: defeating Hamas and securing the return of hostages taken on October 7.
The broadcaster Channel 12 reported that unnamed security officials viewed the plan as little more than a "gigantic tent city", and warned it could pave the way for a return to Israeli military rule in Gaza.
Such a move aligns with the long-standing goals of far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, key coalition partners of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Both Smotrich and Ben Gvir advocate the re-establishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza, from which Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005, and have repeatedly called for the voluntary expatriation of Palestinians from Gaza.
The projected expense of the initiative -- estimated between 10 and 20 billion shekels ($3-6 billion) -- has further fuelled domestic outrage as the cost of nearly two years of war mounts.
"That money is not coming back," opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X on Sunday.
"Netanyahu is letting Smotrich and Ben Gvir run wild with extremist delusions just to preserve his coalition. Instead of plundering the middle class's money, end the war and bring back the hostages."
- 'Fantasies' -
The Palestinian Authority was scathing in appraisal of the proposed facility, with its foreign ministry saying: "The humanitarian city has nothing to do with humanity."
That view was echoed by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which said the "plan would de-facto create massive concentration camps at the border with Egypt".
A Palestinian official with knowledge of the ongoing ceasefire talks in Qatar told AFP that Hamas rejected plans to concentrate Palestinians in a small part of the south, viewing it as "preparation for forcibly displacing them to Egypt or other countries".
Amnesty International, which has accused Israel of genocide, warned that relocating Gazans within the territory or "deporting them outside against their will would amount to the war crime of unlawful transfer".
On Friday, 16 Israeli scholars of international law sent a letter to Katz and Zamir also warning the scheme could amount to a war crime.
Michael Milshtein, an Israeli former military intelligence officer, called the plan one of many "fantasies" floated by Israel's leadership amid mounting public frustration with the war's trajectory and lack of a political solution.
He also noted there was no existing infrastructure in the proposed zone, raising questions about provision of electricity and water.
"There is only sand and fields, nothing," said Milshtein, who heads the Palestinian studies programme at Tel Aviv University.
"Nobody tells the Israeli public what is the price and what are the consequences of reoccupying Gaza, from the economic, political and security points of view," he told AFP.
"I really think that if people understand that the purpose of the war is the reoccupation of Gaza, there is going to be a lot of social unrest in Israel."
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