JERUSALEM – Two former Israeli prime ministers, Ehud Olmert and Yair Lapid, have strongly condemned their government’s proposal to establish a “humanitarian city” in Gaza, with both likening the plan to creating a “concentration camp.” Olmert, in an interview with the British Guardian newspaper, stated unequivocally: “It is a concentration camp. I am sorry.” He argued that forcibly moving Palestinians into the planned camp in southern Gaza would constitute “part of an ethnic cleansing,” describing this as the “inevitable interpretation” of a strategy aimed not at saving Palestinians but at deporting and discarding them. Lapid, leader of Israel’s main opposition party, echoed this sentiment on Israeli Army Radio, calling the plan “a bad idea from every possible perspective – security, political, economic, logistical.” While initially hesitant, he conceded: “I don’t prefer to describe a humanitarian city as a concentration camp, but if exiting it is prohibited, then it is a concentration camp.”
The Israeli government plan involves creating an internment camp initially housing 600,000 displaced Palestinians currently in al-Mawasi, with the stated ultimate goal of moving Gaza’s entire population of over two million there. Satellite imagery reveals a significant escalation in Israeli demolition operations in Rafah, the intended location, with destroyed buildings rising from 15,800 in early April to 28,600 by early July. Humanitarian officials, including Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), have also denounced the plan. Lazzarini warned it risks creating “massive concentration camps” and could lead to a “second Nakba,” referencing the 1948 Palestinian exodus. He asserted it would deprive Palestinians of a future in their homeland.
Despite Israeli government claims that the transfer would be “voluntary,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump have publicly discussed collaborating to find countries willing to accept Palestinians permanently displaced from Gaza. Netanyahu mentioned working “very closely” with the US on this, while Trump expressed optimism about cooperation from surrounding countries.
However, Israel’s neighbours, other Arab states, and Palestinians in Gaza have universally rejected any forced displacement. Further controversy surrounds the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the main group Israel permits to distribute food aid. Reuters reported that the GHF, backed by US and Israeli private interests, proposed building large “humanitarian transit areas” inside and possibly outside Gaza after February 11th, aiming to replace Hamas control and facilitate “deradicalization” and potential relocation. GHF aid distribution sites have been the scene of significant violence, with at least 800 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid since late May. Israel seeks to replace UN agencies with the GHF for all aid operations.
Experts like Omar Rahman of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs interpret the GHF’s role, the killings at its sites, and the internment camp plan as evidence of Israel’s “ultimate goal” being “the physical destruction of Gaza, the engineered collapse of Palestinian society… and the forcible depopulation of the entirety of the Strip.” Rahman concluded Israel is creating a “concentration camp” to pressure Palestinians into “voluntary” emigration through starvation and violence, holding them until depopulation options materialize.
