GAZA CITY: Hamas called on Arab and Muslim countries on Friday to oppose a proposal from two Israeli ministers to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and send them abroad.
"Escalating statements by ministers in the Israeli government regarding the continued adoption of plans to displace the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip represent an extremely dangerous development," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement.
He called on "Arab and Islamic countries to take serious and unified action to confront these plans and adopt effective positions and measures to thwart them".
Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir laid out a plan on Thursday that aims to see the departure of 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in the first year, followed by the rest of the roughly two million residents over the following six years.
His remarks came a day after Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel was ready to remove Palestinians from Gaza by sea and land but was waiting for the United States, which he said was discussing places for the population to go.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich earlier proposed also removing Palestinians from the West Bank, where Israeli settlers have been carrying out a growing number of attacks.
Forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is considered a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
Almost the entire population of Gaza has already been displaced internally in relentless Israeli bombing since the October 7, 2023 attacks led by Hamas, which were the deadliest ever against Israel and killed mostly civilians.
The Israeli remarks come ahead of October 27 elections in which polls show a tight race for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has brought once shunned far-right ministers into his cabinet.
US President Donald Trump stunned the world early in his second term by proposing removing Palestinians from Gaza and turning the rubble-strewn Mediterranean territory into a luxury resort.
He backtracked after pushback from countries including Egypt, the only country other than Israel to border Gaza.
