“I welcome President Trump’s bold plan, Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is the norm around the world,” Katz said on X.

Katz said his plan would include exit options via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.

Hamas official Basem Naim accused Katz of trying to cover up “for a state that has failed to achieve any of its objectives in the war on Gaza”, and said Palestinians are too attached to their land to ever leave.

Displacement of Palestinians is one of the most sensitive and explosive issues in the Middle East. Forced or coerced displacement of a population under military occupation is a war crime, banned under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Israeli strikes which killed tens of thousands of people over the past 16 months have forced Palestinians to repeatedly move around within Gaza, seeking safety.

But many say they will never leave the enclave because they fear permanent displacement, like the “Nakba”, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed from homes in the war at the birth of the state of Israel in 1948.

Many were driven out or fled to Gaza, the West Bank and neighbouring Arab states including to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, where their descendants still live in refugee camps. Israel disputes the account that they were forced out.

Katz said countries who have opposed Israel’s military operations in Gaza should take in the Palestinians.
“Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have levelled accusations and false claims against Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories,” he said.

“Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse to do so. There are countries like Canada, which has a structured immigration program, that have previously expressed a willingness to accept Gaza residents.”

His remarks drew quick criticism Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.

“Gazans’ land is Gaza and Gaza must be part of the future Palestinian state,” Albares said in an interview with Spanish radio station RNE.

Katz accused Hamas of holding Palestinians hostage in Gaza, preventing their departure and extorting money from them through the humanitarian aid system. He did not elaborate.

Trump’s unexpected announcement, which has sparked anger around the Middle East, came as Israel and Hamas were expected to begin talks on the second round of a fragile ceasefire plan to end almost 16 months of fighting in Gaza.-Agencies