TEL AVIV, February 27. /TASS/. Israel will establish a special migration administration to relocate residents of the Gaza Strip to other countries in the event that US President Donald Trump’s initiative regarding this process is implemented, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
"I am rapidly advancing the establishment of a voluntary immigration administration to allow those who wish to leave Gaza to do so via Ashdod Port or Ramon Airport," he was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel.
In late January, Trump said that Gazans, who found themselves unhoused due to hostilities, could be resettled to other Arab countries, such as Egypt and Jordan. According to the US president, this would affect about 1.5 million people. On February 4, Trump said at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following their talks at the White House, that the United States was considering long-term ownership of the Gaza Strip in order to develop it for the sake of peace in the Middle East. The Israeli PM later has repeatedly stated that he supports the US leader’s initiative on creating a "different Gaza."
Other Arab countries, along with the Palestinian Hamas movement, which controls Gaza, have also expressed disagreement with Trump’s idea. In this regard, Egypt and Jordan said that they were considering an alternative plan for Gaza’s reconstruction without resettling its residents. This plan is expected to be presented at the Arab League emergency meeting on the situation in the Gaza Strip on March 4.