U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Saturday that Israel has no plan to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, following proposals by Israeli ministers this week for mass removal of the territory's population.
"I can tell you categorically that the Israelis have no plan to displace people from Gaza against their will," Huckabee told reporters during a visit to Turmus Ayya, a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank where numerous Palestinian-Americans reside.
Huckabee added that there is openness to the idea that if people wish to leave Gaza, they should have the right to do so. "Confining them to a place where they don't want to be would, in my view, be an absolute disgrace," he said.
"No one is suggesting forced displacement. Neither the Israelis nor, certainly, the Americans. I don't know anyone who supports that," Huckabee stated.
The ambassador's remarks came after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir presented a plan Thursday to evacuate Palestinians from Gaza and send them abroad. With legislative elections scheduled for October 27, Ben Gvir proposed expelling 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza within one year, with the remaining approximately two million inhabitants departing over the following six years. Ben Gvir described the plan as "realistic" and characterized it as "voluntary migration."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that there was "no real solution for Gaza, in the end, without this migration."
During his visit to Turmus Ayya, Huckabee met with Palestinian-Americans who reported being attacked by Israeli settlers. He warned of "grave consequences" resulting from violence perpetrated by settlers in the West Bank, stating: "Our message is clear: a crime is a crime, and terrorism is terrorism. Those who commit such acts must expect to face grave consequences." However, he refrained from criticizing Israel directly.