U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said there was no Israeli or U.S. plan to force Palestinians out of Gaza, distancing Washington from renewed proposals by two Israeli ministers advocating large-scale emigration from the territory.
“I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will,” Huckabee told reporters on Sept. 5, in Turmus Ayya, a Palestinian town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Huckabee added that people who wished to leave Gaza should have the right to do so voluntarily.
“Nobody is suggesting that there will be forced displacement. The Israelis are not. The Americans are certainly not. I know of no one who supports that,” Huckabee said.
His remarks came after two senior members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government renewed calls for the large-scale relocation of Gaza’s population, placing the issue back at the center of Israel’s domestic political debate ahead of October’s election.
Migration Push
Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Sept. 6 reaffirmed his support for what he called voluntary migration from Gaza, saying on X that it remained “the real and only solution” for both Israel’s security and Gazans who wished to leave.
He said that, if his Jewish Power party joined the next government, it would establish a government immigration office with the authority and funding needed to implement the policy.
Ben-Gvir had outlined a broader seven-year plan on Sept. 3 to remove Gaza’s population through what he described as “voluntary emigration.”
Speaking at a press conference, he said he would seek to create a ministry responsible for emigration in the next government.
His Jewish Power party later said Turkey, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were among countries being considered as possible destinations.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz echoed the theme during a Sept. 2 appearance at a Ynet conference, arguing that migration remained essential to resolving the conflict in Gaza.
“There is no real solution for Gaza without emigration,” Katz said.
He said that “80 percent want to emigrate,” adding that Hamas prevented residents from leaving and that no countries were currently willing to receive them.
Katz said Israel had already established an administrative body that could immediately facilitate departures “by sea, by air—or by any other means” if political conditions allowed.
According to Katz, the main obstacle was that countries willing to receive Palestinians wanted explicit backing from the United States before accepting them.
“Right now, President Trump has not canceled the plan—he has frozen it,” Katz said, adding that Arab governments had persuaded U.S. President Donald Trump to pause the proposal rather than abandon it.
He said discussions were continuing and predicted the plan would regain momentum if Hamas failed to meet its commitments.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a July statement that it rejected what it described as Israeli efforts to legitimize the forced displacement of Palestinians through increasingly inflammatory political rhetoric.
Relocation Proposals
Trump proposed relocating Gaza’s roughly 2.3 million residents in February 2025 while suggesting the war-ravaged territory could eventually be redeveloped into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Asked who would live there, Trump said Palestinians, Jews, Arabs, and others from across the Middle East could all reside in Gaza.
Trump later appeared to soften the proposal. His September 2025 Gaza peace plan stated that “no one will be forced to leave Gaza” and that the United States would “encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.”
Egypt and Jordan have rejected proposals to absorb large numbers of Palestinians from Gaza. Trump previously urged both countries to take in more refugees as part of a plan to “clean out” Gaza, an idea both governments opposed.
The Palestinian Authority has repeatedly rejected proposals to relocate Gaza’s population.
In a Feb. 5, 2025 statement, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians “will not give up their land, rights and holy sites.” He described any forced displacement as a violation of international law, and reaffirmed that Gaza is an integral part of Palestinian territory.
Gaza Control
The debate over migration comes as negotiations continue over implementing the U.S.-backed Board of Peace framework that followed last year’s ceasefire.
Although the October 2025 ceasefire halted large-scale fighting, Israeli forces continue carrying out strikes that they say target Hamas and other militant groups, while Gaza remains divided between Israeli- and Hamas-controlled areas.
Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces were expected to withdraw to a Yellow Line marking the limits of their control. However, Israeli leaders have repeatedly indicated they intend to retain territory until Hamas is fully disarmed.
In a Sept. 2 video recorded during a visit to an Israel Defense Forces position inside Gaza, Netanyahu said Israel controlled about 60 percent of the territory and would not withdraw.
Katz made similar remarks during the Ynet conference, saying Israel had strategic control over Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egyptian border, while Hamas remained active only in the remaining areas.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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