US: Israel Has No Plan to Displace Palestinians from Gaza

Israel has no plan to forcibly displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, said US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. He was responding to proposals by two Israeli ministers for the large-scale displacement of Palestinians from the enclave.

"I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will", Huckabee told reporters in the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

According to the ambassador, however, people who want to leave Gaza should have the right to do so. He emphasized that neither Israel nor the United States is proposing forced displacement, and he said he is not aware of anyone who supports it.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Wednesday that, ultimately, there is no "real solution" for Gaza without migration.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir presented a seven-year plan on Thursday for the departure of Gaza's population through what he called "voluntary emigration".

Parliamentary elections will be held in Israel on 27 October.

(Reuters, lud)