LJUBLJANA: Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Wednesday said his country was "not planning to expel or to deport anyone from Gaza Strip" during a visit to Slovenia for the opening of an Israeli embassy.
If someone wants to leave Gaza "from his own will, and there is a country which is ready to accept him, as it happens from any conflict area in the world, we will not oppose that," he added.
Several Israeli cabinet members have spoken of plans to remove all two million people from war-ravaged Gaza, although they largely cast the initiative as voluntary, saying that Palestinians want to leave and are prevented by the militant group Hamas.
Saar was speaking at a press conference in Ljubljana ahead of the opening of an Israeli embassy there as Slovenia looks to reset diplomatic ties with Israel under nationalist Prime Minister Janez Jansa.
He thanked Slovenia for its "friendship" and for "standing with Israel when it matters".
"An embassy is more than a flag in the building. It is an investment in a relationship and a commitment to its future. And that is exactly what we are planning to do together," Saar said.
"Israel remembers its friends. As you have stood with us, we will stand with you," he said.
The opening of an Israeli embassy in Ljubljana marks a dramatic departure from the policies of the previous centre-left government, which had been one of the EU's most critical voices on Israel's military offensive in Gaza.