Palestinian National Council condemns Israeli defense, national security ministers’ calls to expel Gazans

The head of the Palestinian National Council on Friday condemned calls by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, saying they amount to a "grave violation of international law."

Rawhi Fattouh said the remarks by Katz and Ben-Gvir "reveal a systematic project of ethnic cleansing," according to a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Ben-Gvir on Thursday unveiled a plan calling for the displacement of 1.86 million Palestinians from Gaza over seven years through the creation of a dedicated ministry to oversee the process.

A day earlier, Katz acknowledged that pressure from Arab countries on US President Donald Trump, along with investment offers made to him, had frozen a plan to displace Palestinians from the enclave.

"Turning forced displacement into an openly declared policy, and treating the uprooting of Palestinians from their land as a political option, constitutes a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law and the UN Charter," Fattouh said.

He said the remarks showed "the Israeli government's disregard for international conventions and its attempt to treat them as restrictions it seeks to shed."

Fattouh also warned that efforts to weaken the International Criminal Court and undermine its mandate would encourage perpetrators of "killing, genocide and ethnic cleansing" to continue violations without accountability.

He urged the international community and the UN Security Council to confront attempts to undermine international justice and protect its independence, while calling for sanctions against the Israeli government and accountability for violations of international law.

Israeli officials have repeatedly floated proposals to remove Palestinians from Gaza since the start of the genocide in October 2023, drawing broad Arab and international rejection and warnings that such plans would amount to ethnic cleansing.

Israel's genocide in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and wounded over 174,000 others, most of them women and children, while about 90% of the enclave's infrastructure has been destroyed.