The U.S. ambassador to Israel said Saturday there was no plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, seeking to draw a distinction between voluntary departure and proposals by Israeli far-right ministers to relocate the territory's roughly 2 million residents.
Ambassador Mike Huckabee made the comments during a visit to Palestinian-American families in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where he also called on Israel to protect Palestinian residents from settler violence.
“I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will,” Huckabee told reporters.
His remarks came after two senior Israeli ministers publicly discussed plans that would involve Palestinians leaving Gaza.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Thursday that he wanted to see about 250,000 Palestinians leave Gaza during the first year, followed by the departure of the rest of the population over the next six years.
