ISRAELI Defence Minister Israel Katz has acknowledged that the Government is still pursuing plans to remove Palestinians from Gaza, saying US President Donald Trump has frozen rather than abandoned the proposal.
Katz said the displacement of Gaza’s population, described by some Israeli officials as “voluntary migration”, remained the only viable solution to the conflict.
“In the end, there is no real solution for Gaza without this migration. For now, Trump has not cancelled it, he has only frozen it.
“I think in the end there is no other solution, in the interests of everyone. But for that to happen, we need the US and the time will come,” Katz said, according to The Times of Israel.
Speaking at a conference organised by Israeli publication Ynet on Wednesday, Katz said Israel was prepared to take control of Gaza “by sea, air and whatever means necessary” to implement the plan.
He said countries potentially willing to accept displaced Palestinians would need US support, adding that Washington had yet to fully abandon the proposal.
Foreign news agencies cited that Katz’s remarks amount to a public acknowledgement that the displacement plan remains under discussion, despite international opposition and warnings from Palestinian rights advocates that such a move could constitute ethnic cleansing.
Several far-right Israeli officials have previously called for Palestinians to leave Gaza, while Trump earlier backed a proposal for the United States to take over the territory after its Palestinian population was relocated.
The proposal drew condemnation across the Middle East, including from US allies.
US Senator Chris Van Hollen said he and fellow Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley had warned after visiting the Gaza-Egypt border last year that Israel was planning to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian territory.
“Now Israel’s Defence Minister confirms that this is their goal. We must end our involvement,” Van Hollen wrote on social media. - September 6, 2026
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