Backlash grows over Israel’s proposal for prison-like city in Gaza

Defence Minister Israel Katz says people will be unable to leave the zone

Palestinians check the damage after an Israeli strike that hit a school sheltering displaced people in central Gaza. AFP

Forced displacement of Palestinians is back in the spotlight as Israel's Prime Minister visits Washington and his Defence Minister proposes a prison-like “humanitarian city” built in Gaza, on the ruins of yet another city Israel has destroyed.

Israel's plans to push Palestinians to live in harsh conditions in Rafah, southern Gaza, have come under widespread attack by officials and activists who have described the proposed zones as “concentration camps”. Defence Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the army to work on a proposal to “concentrate” Palestinians in Gaza in a so-called “humanitarian city” built on the ruins of Rafah.

The plans, which would affect all 2.2 million people in Gaza, would include screening civilians to ensure that they are not members of Hamas. People would be unable to leave the area as it is secured by the Israeli army and managed by international organisations, he told reporters.

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Israel has been increasingly cracking down on the UN and its agencies, preventing them from operating in Gaza, while propping up the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been accused of shooting at civilians trying to obtain aid.

Israeli media used terms such as “concentrate” and “camps” to describe the plan, prompting many on social media to link the two words and accuse Israel of seeking to imprison Palestinians in concentration camps.

“Israel's Defence Minister Katz isn't even hiding it any more – he's openly calling for a concentration camp for Palestinians in Gaza,” said Palestinian activist and director of the human rights project at Agora Initiative, Ihab Hassan.

'Deradicalised and reintegrated'

The Zionist group Betar Worldwide, which launched a campaign against Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, wrote about the news: “Flee, flee Palestine,” in a play on the famous slogan calling for freedom for Palestine.

Reuters reported earlier on Monday that Israel had plans to create “humanitarian transit areas” where Gazans can become “deradicalised and reintegrated”, and prepare to be “relocated” if they wished to do so. Mairav Zonszein, senior Israel analyst at the Crisis Group, also said moving people around “like cattle” could not be called “humanitarian”.

A Palestinian woman is evacuated after an Israeli strike hit a tent housing displaced people in Gaza city. AFP

Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard also noted a contradiction in the Israeli narrative, pointing to comments by the army chief of staff who said concentrating and moving the population is not part of the military's duties.

Mr Sfard said he received a letter from the chief of staff denying Israel's plans – hours before Mr Katz doubled down on his comments. “So who is lying,” Mr Sfard wrote on X.

Meanwhile, attempts are being made towards a ceasefire in Gaza that would bring almost two years of Israeli bombardment to a halt. In that time, more than 57,500 Palestinians have been killed, 136,617 have been wounded and nearly all of the enclave has been destroyed.