Concerns about Israeli plans for Gaza and Palestinian displacement

[JadeHare]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/28/middleeast/israel-netanyahu-military-70-percent-gaza-intl

Doesn’t look like there will be much land left for the Palestinians.

And in other news, from the Guardian:

“Israel’s defence minister has said he is committed to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza through large-scale migration of Palestinians as part of Israel’s long-term plans for the territory.
Israel Katz said the government would implement a plan for large numbers of Palestinians to leave Gaza “at the right time and in the right manner”, in a statement on Wednesday marking the targeted killing of Mohammed Odeh, Hamas’s most recent military commander.
Pushing for mass departures violates Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan for Gaza, which Israel signed last year. The second point of the plan states: “Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.”
Israel’s government has promoted the prospect of Gaza without Palestinians since Trump suggested early last year that hundreds of thousands of people should leave to “clean out” the strip for reconstruction.
Last year Israel set up a bureau for “voluntary emigration” and eased travel restrictions for Palestinians who wanted to make a one-way journey out of the strip.
The forced transfer of civilian populations is a war crime and a crime against humanity. Israeli officials, including Katz, use the term “voluntary migration” to describe their ”

Excerpt From
“Israel’s defence minister says large-scale Palestinian migration from Gaza will go ahead”
Emma Graham-Harrison
The Guardian
https://apple.news/AnnlpJqlOTdW5cUbA9NEe1Q
This material may be protected by copyright.

Because mr Spanish prime minister said it then it must be true? Please do some research about what is going on in Lebanon. Israel is fighting against Hezbollah who have entrenched themselves for years in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel and have been bombarding Israel with rockets and more recently drones, killing many. How are Israel meant to sit back and just let themselves be attacked?

Thank you for explaining. Yes I was mixing up murderers. My thinking was more that if you give a murderer a knife while at the same time creating a situation that makes them angry and desperate enough to use it, which they then do in the most heinous of ways, while the blame is still squarely on the murderer, that murderer has been enabled - an analogy that could be applied to both Hamas and the equally heinous response of the Israeli government.

I agree that if Oct 7th hadn’t happened, Israel would not have been handed a carte blanche for collective punishment. But if Israel hadn’t been given that carte Blanche, facilitated by a multitude of ‘ifs’, for example the unequivocal backing of the current US government, this would not be happening. Aside from ignoring the catalogue of events that led up to Oct 7th (which are another series of ifs), I find your view that it all rests on that one event to be reductive.

The question is how do we stop enabling both parties?

It has already begun.

I don't only see one reason.

In my post of 21:53 last night:

"dismissing the idea of them moving to another country as ethnic cleansing...That's very convenient for their neighbours like Egypt who haven't offered to take Palestinian refugees anyway. Not just because of potential accusations of ethnic cleaning but also due to the effect it would have on their economy and how it would affect them if Hamas were amongst the refugees"

I don't think its a question of us here in the West enabling both parties.

Both sides need a change of leadership for Palestinians to have their State.

Israel will choose. They can go moderate and choose a party / coalition commited to a Palestinian State. Or they can stay extremist and stick with the religious supremacists ( imo short termist stupidity- the Palestinians exist and need somewhere of their own free of Israeli oppression ).

Palestinians, at least in Gaza, cannot choose. No elections. Murderous oppression of opposition figures. The PA is completely corrupt also.

For peace to happen, both sides need commitment to the other. Theres no current pathway for Palestinian's to get that. Which is why I believe Israel has to take Hamas out.

The only thing we can do as observers here is try to amplify reconciliatory voices and dial down the hatred on both sides.

All I see on here is more and more hatred.

This thread, for example, was created as a place for people to hate Israel for an ethnic cleansing of Gaza that hasnt yet taken place. No attempt at understanding- why Hamas must go- why Israel is even in Gaza in the first place. Just hate. And writing out the accountability for the consequences of October 7.

What does everyone think would happen in Gaza if Israel withdrew completely?

The Palestinian strategy for dealing with the Jewish state where it is has been a spectacular failure. Palestinians are worse off than they've ever, ever been. So many are so keen to place sole responsibility for that at Israels door- I reject that. Palestinian leadership bears responsibility too. And when a people has agency then they have power.

I want for Palestinians to have leadership that says- We are partly responsible for where we are now. Because we are responsible, we can change. We commit to living peacefully with Israel. We demand the same of Israel.

It's for Israel and Palestinians to choose.

This thread, for example, was created as a place for people to hate Israel for an ethnic cleansing of Gaza that hasnt yet taken place. No attempt at understanding- why Hamas must go- why Israel is even in Gaza in the first place. Just hate. And writing out the accountability for the consequences of October 7.

And yet I mentioned twice that people needed to start thinking more about what
Jose Mauel Albares said:

Israel has a right to have its state peacefully and in security, but the Palestinian people, the Lebanese people, have exactly the same right.”

Great, then we agree.

There can't be peace for Lebanon or Palestine or Israel as long as they have terrorists in positions of power.

Lets hope Israel removes the terrorists from Lebanon and Palestine, as they have no effectively removed the terrorists themselves. And lets hope the everyday Israelis remove the Israeli terrorist settler supporting supremacists from the Knesset asap also.

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

Sorry if been mentioned already, but is this the place for this story. I think it is.

No money in the Gaza rebuild plan. Not Trumps plan anyway.

Trump Board of Peace's official Gaza fund is empty despite billions pledged, source says - France 24

From the above article: “The source said money has not been deposited because the fund was designed for the reconstruction and development phase, which has not yet been reached “.

And likely never will be reached unless Hamas militants can be removed from Gaza. I’ve said it before but no country will want to invest in Gaza while they are still there.

I think it is worth people reflecting on why close neighbours like Egypt have refused to take Palestinian refugees despite pressure to do so.
There are 150,000 Palestinian refugees in Egypt, 2.4 million in Jordan, 450,000 in Syria and 300,000 in Lebanon. Not all there due t the current conflict but it is a nit disingenuous to suggest they refuse to take any

From the article you posted:
Almost immediately after the start of the conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his governing coalition began a concerted effort to persuade first the European Union and then the United States to pressure Egypt to accept Palestinian refugees.
So straight away at the start of the war Israel are pressurising other countries to take Palestinians. Netanyahu is. It doesn't say anywhere whether Palestinians want to go, so one of the reasons which I have already given was not being complicit in ethnic cleansing or wanting to be part of facilitating the large scale displacement of Palestinins.

0.256% of all residents emigrated in 2024 and that the most common destination countries have been Belgium, Greece and Ireland.
You will probably find that this is due to family ties and connections in these countries

I haven’t said Egypt have refused to take any Palestinian refugees ever. I think I’ve made it very clear I’m talking about countries in the ME like Egypt not wanting to take refugees from Gaza since the war started.

I think it is worth remembering that while the UK far right march in London against a 40 k " small boat people", that the middle East as "hosts nearly 25 million forcibly displaced people and returnees"

Source :

Middle East Emergency | UK for UNHCR (unrefugees.org.uk)

Not really comparable since the UK isn’t a big region compared to the whole of the Middle East.

Maybe compare the ME to Europe if you want to make some kind of point.

Yeah, the Middle East might be a big area in terms of geography. But not much of it is a green and pleasant land suitable for high density human habitation.

Lebanon looks a nice place though. Semi arid. But looks ok. Unfortunately there is a million or so been displaced from there too.

Egypt is mostly sand dunes away from the Nile. And so on.

I think I’ve made it very clear I’m talking about countries in the ME like Egypt not wanting to take refugees from Gaza since the war started.
But they have! Egypt have taken close to 100,000 this has alreday been said. They refused to take large scale numbers because they don't want to be complicit in ethnic cleansing and facilitating large scale dispalcement, especially when there are no guarantees they wil be able to return.

From the Guardian (January 24)

Palestinians desperate to leave Gaza are paying bribes to brokers of up to $10,000 (£7,850) to help them exit the territory through Egypt, according to a Guardian investigation.

Very few Palestinians have been able to leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing but those trying to get their names on the list of people permitted to exit daily say they are being asked to pay large “coordination fees” by a network of brokers and couriers with alleged links to the Egyptian intelligence services.

The fact that Egypt don't want Palestinian refugees from the Gaza war can perhaps best be gleaned from how they treat them:

Without legal status or access to services, many children face exclusion and trauma: many are unaccompanied and live in overcrowded, unsafe shelters.

Education is a critical need, with most school-aged children unable to attend school due to lack of documentation or resources, and makeshift solutions like online learning.

Economic hardship has deepened the crisis. A recent Save the Children survey found that:

• 75% of Palestinian households in Egypt have no income
• 62% received no support since arrival
• 90% have no savings
• 60% are in debt

https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/where/middle-east-and-northern-africa/egypt_en

And Gaza is not the only source of refugees in Egypt. In October 2023 they had near a million registered. Mainly from Sudan.

"Egypt hosts more than 941,625 registered refugees and asylum-seekers from 61 nationalities. Starting October 2023, the Sudanese nationality has become the top nationality, followed by Syrians. Other relevant countries of origin include South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Yemen, Somalia and Iraq."

So when folk say " Egypt won't take Palestinians", it could be because they have others already.

And to sort of repeat what I said above, the UK has far right marchers yelling " the UK is full". And it seems to me that the people insisting that other nations take the refugees that Israel are creating, could be saying "the UK can take them"

I wonder if Egypt has a Reform Party ? Maybe they have a Tommy Ten Names yelling "the country is full"

Source :

Refugee Context in Egypt | UNHCR Egypt

Tommy Ten Names 🤣

I'm going to be using that.

What point are you trying to make? I am lost at this stage

Leaving Gaza is extremely difficult and very controlled. Borders are closed they need to go to great lengths to get out. None of this is new information

but those trying to get their names on the list of people permitted to exit
Permitted by Israel. You are just highlighting the other human rights that Palestinians in Gaza are being denied such as the right to leave a country, the right to seek asylum, and the right of non-refoulement.

@dairydebris ’This thread, for example, was created as a place for people to hate Israel for an ethnic cleansing of Gaza that hasnt yet taken place. No attempt at understanding- why Hamas must go- why Israel is even in Gaza in the first place. Just hate. And writing out the accountability for the consequences of October 7.’

Why do posters continually assume they can speak for the thoughts and intentions of others on here?

Any thread that criticises the actions of Israel is inevitably called a ‘hate’ thread, but the hateful comments are not coming from the concerned ones - the haters are people who object to the thread. This is gaslighting.

Of course the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the WB and EJ is taking place. The expulsion is the final stage. What do you think Israel has been doing for the last few years?

‘Israel-based human rights organisations and lawyers have warned that the conditions Israel has imposed on Gaza mean no departure can be considered voluntary and the policy constitutes planning for ethnic cleansing.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said last year: “Creating living conditions that do not allow for survival, freedom and dignity, and subjecting civilians to them until they say they want to leave is not a plan for ‘encouraging voluntary emigration’ but a plan for forced evacuation and expulsion.”

Where have the Palestinians of Gaza been ethnically cleansed to then? Where have they gone?

In many cases of ethnic cleansing we say it has taken place when the inhabitants have been 'cleansed' from the land. The Rohingya were cleansed into Bangladesh and surrounding. The Iraqi Kurds were bussed off into the desert and murdered. The Jews were cleansed out of Gaza for Palestinians to live there Jew free.

So tell me. If Gaza has already been ethnically cleansed, or is currently being cleansed, where have Palestinian Gazans gone?

Does killing not constitute ethnic cleansing? Aside from the official figures of those killed, there are thousands missing - so many buried under the rubble.

Who is going to object to the fact that Netanyahu has yet again broken the terms of the ceasefire? From the BBC:

The expansion in control by Israel would contradict the terms of the Donald Trump-led ceasefire Israel and Hamas agreed to in October 2025.

No one I expect.

If Gaza has already been ethnically cleansed, or is currently being cleansed, where have Palestinian Gazans gone?
The Israeli defence minister has been clear on their plans. Do we wait until they've all been displaced before discussing it?

As @Ellen2shoes has already highlighted:

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said last year: “Creating living conditions that do not allow for survival, freedom and dignity, and subjecting civilians to them until they say they want to leave is not a plan for ‘encouraging voluntary emigration’ but a plan for forced evacuation and expulsion.”
The process has started. We await to hear where they go that piece of information was missing from their press release

It’s ethnic cleansing and a land grab. The Israeli state are utter bastards and they don’t care.