Israeli defense minister proposes ‘concentration camp’ for Gazans on Rafah’s ruins
Monitoring Desk
GAZA: Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has said he has instructed the Israeli army to forcibly confine Gaza’s Palestinians to a camp built on the ruins of Rafah, amid sharp condemnation from experts and activists.
Mark Seddon, a former UN correspondent and academic, and Palestinian human rights activist Ihab Hassan, likened the move to building a concentration camp for Palestinians in the war-battered territory.
This is the latest idea floated by ministers in Israel’s far-right government to forcibly displace the Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza, amid continued speculation about a possible expulsion of Gaza’s residents to other countries.
Katz proposed the idea that some 600,000 Palestinians living or displaced to the al-Mawasi area in the southern Gaza Strip would be transported to what he called a “humanitarian city,” from which they wouldn’t be “allowed to leave”.
Before entry to the camp, Palestinians would be forced to undergo “screenings” to ensure they are not “Hamas operatives,” he said, as reported by Haaretz on Monday.
Katz, a proponent of the war in Gaza who has threatened to annex parts of the war-battered territory, said the construction plan would begin in parallel with an expected 60-day ceasefire in Gaza – following recent talks held by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The defence minister said he seeks to eventually place all of Gaza’s two million Palestinians in this camp which the Israeli military will “secure from a distance” – essentially subjecting Palestinians to further Israeli control and occupation despite the implementation of a potential ceasefire.
Katz also suggested that several international bodies would “manage the area”, without specifying which ones or how they would agree to such.
Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights lawyer, called Katz’s proposal “a well-organised plan for a crime against humanity”.
In the UK, Ellie Chowns, the MP for North Herefordshire, said on Tuesday she was “horrified” by the plan to force the Gaza Strip’s entire population into effectively “an internment camp in Rafah”.
“The UK must use every diplomatic, legal, and economical tool to stop this atrocity, uphold international law and protect Palestinian rights,” she stressed.
This came as Netanyahu said he was “close” to finding several countries to take in Palestinians he claimed would “voluntarily migrate” from the enclave.
Netanyahu echoed Trump’s sentiment from earlier this year where he proposed to “take over” the territory and expel its Palestinian residents from there, during a press session with reporters during his US visit.
Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip has now entered its twenty-second month, killing well over 57,500 Palestinians since 7 October, 2023.
Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip have been described as genocide by UN experts, NGOs and global leaders.
Displacement is one of the most emotional issues for Palestinians, who fear a repetition of the 1948 “Nakba” (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed of their homes in the war of Israel’s birth.
The Nakba has been one of the defining experiences for Palestinians for more than 75 years, helping to shape their national identity and casting its shadow on their conflicted relationship with Israel in the decades since.
