U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told reporters on Saturday that there is no plan underway to force Palestinians out of Gaza, following Israel's government proposal on relocation plans for people in Gaza.
“I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will,” Huckabee told reporters on Saturday while visiting Palestinian Americans in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Around three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, with tens of thousands estimated to hold U.S. citizenship.
Huckabee said that “nobody” was proposing their forced displacement: “The Israelis are not. The Americans are certainly not. I know of no one who supports that.”
Huckabee met with Palestinian Americans, including relatives of U.S. citizens killed by Israeli settlers, in Turmus Ayya on Saturday.
At least six Palestinian Americans have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since 2024.
At the meeting he told the Palestinian Americans that the U.S. embassy had no power or authority to take direct action, but could seek to influence events and draw attention to issues.
His comments came after National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir proposed a plan that would see 250,000 Palestinians leave Gaza in the first year, followed by the remaining population over the next six years through what he described as “voluntary emigration”.
Huckabee said U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration supported giving Palestinians the option to leave Gaza voluntarily, arguing that they should not be prevented from doing so.
“There is an open-mindedness if people wish to leave, that they should have the right to leave,” Huckabee said, describing it as a “disgrace” to “incarcerate” Palestinians in Gaza.
Trump sparked international controversy early in his second term by proposing that Palestinians be temporarily relocated from Gaza and that the territory be redeveloped as a luxury resort.
He later softened the proposal following opposition from countries including Egypt, which borders Gaza.
Virtually Gaza’s entire population has been displaced internally during Israel’s military offensive, which began following the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.
Far-right Israeli politicians have also called for the return of Israeli settlers to Gaza, where Israel dismantled its settlements in 2005 as part of a unilateral withdrawal.
The debate over Gaza’s future comes ahead of Israel’s 27 October elections, with polls showing a close race involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government includes several far-right figures.
Prosecutors in Paraguay have charged former President Santiago Peña and ex-central bank chief Carlos Carvallo Spalding over the collapse of ...
At least six people have been killed and 15 injured after a gunman opened fire in Kraków's main square, Polish authoritie...
The U.S. military has established a new unit to stop Iran transporting advanced weapons systems via its land borders and the Caspian Sea. ...
Democrats' sweeping victory in the U.S. midterm elections has sent technology stocks plunging, as investors fear tougher AI regulations could slow infrastructure development and threaten the boom that has driven market gains this year.
Romanian authorities said late on Thursday that two additional planes had received bomb threats including a KLM flight to Tel Aviv that had a layover in Bucharest.
U.S. President Donald Trump has predicted a breakthrough in efforts to end the war in Ukraine after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, ahead of U.S.-mediated peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in Abu Dhabi on 10-11 November.
Two people, including a child, were killed and 16 others injured when an intercity bus crashed in eastern France on Friday morning, authorities confirmed.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed to fight attempts to impeach him, dismissing the growing campaign against him as politically motivated amid mounting criticism of his handling of the war in Iran.
Prosecutors in Paraguay have charged former President Santiago Peña and ex-central bank chief Carlos Carvallo Spalding over the collapse of Ueno Bank, and have asked a court to hold both men in pretrial detention.
At least six people have been killed and 15 injured after a gunman opened fire in Kraków's main square, Polish authorities have said. The suspect, a Polish national, opened fire on people at random in Rynek Główny at around 3pm local time on Saturday, according to Polish police.
Paraguay’s Vice President Pedro Alliana has assumed the presidency after the Senate impeached and ousted Santiago Peña amid a banking crisis that sparked widespread political backlash.
New Zealand’s ruling centre-right National Party has taken a narrow lead over the opposition Labour Party in Saturday’s general election, with the country’s current three-party coalition projected to retain power.
Russian forces launched a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv early on Saturday, 7 November, injuring two people and damaging residential buildings, just three days before U.S.-led peace talks with Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment