Israel’s traditional allies are warning the right-wing government not to consider evicting people living in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli officials repeatedly hint that Canada may take in Palestinians.
This week, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the country should “encourage the emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza and re-establish Israeli settlements there, citing Itamar Ben Gvir National Security. He echoed similar comments from the Minister.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called the statements by both politicians “inflammatory and irresponsible.”
French President Emmanuel Macron called the comments “unacceptable” and the German Foreign Ministry rejected them “in the strongest terms”, with a spokesperson saying they were not helpful for peace. .
Last month, members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party reportedly discussed countries prepared to accept Palestinians from the Gaza Strip as refugees.
A report in Israel Hayom newspaper cited anonymous sources as saying that Knesset members pointed to Canada, referring to a new program that would provide limited visas to relatives of Canadian citizens seeking to leave Gaza.
This report has not been independently verified by Canadian Press or CBC News.
Immigration Minister Mark Miller said in a social media post last week that he had never discussed deporting Gazans from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory, but his office immediately responded to requests for further comment. did not respond.
“It is despicable to have to say this, but I have never discussed the so-called ‘voluntary removal’ of Gazan residents from Gaza with anyone in the Israeli government,” Miller said on December 29. Posted online.
“Anyone who pretends otherwise is full of it.”
Canada is set to launch a temporary immigration program next week for relatives of Canadians trapped in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The program will provide three-year visas to up to 1,000 Palestinians whose families support them during their stay in Canada.
Global Affairs Canada told CBC News on Wednesday that about 705 Canadians, permanent residents and their eligible family members entered Egypt from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.
During the first month of the latest Israel-Hamas war, Israeli government ministries drafted a proposal to deport all 2.3 million Palestinians living in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to Egypt and resettle them in other countries. did.
The memo specifically noted that Canada’s “permissive” immigration practices could make the country a target for resettlement. Israeli officials confirmed the document’s authenticity but said the proposal was not government policy.
In November, Ram Ben Barak, a former deputy director of the intelligence agency Mossad, said on Israeli television that it would be “better for Palestinians to become refugees in Canada” than to live in Gaza.
Thomas Juneau, a professor at the University of Ottawa, said recent statements by Smotrich and Ben-Gvir amounted to “openly advocating ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”
As fighting between Israel and Hamas continues, the majority of Gaza residents are forced to survive on meager resources, but hope remains for a better new year.
Last month, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Paula Gaviria Betancourt, warned that Israel appears to be seeking to permanently change Gaza’s demographic composition.
“As evacuation orders and military operations continue to expand, and civilians are exposed to relentless attacks on a daily basis, the only logical conclusion is that “The aim is to expel people from the country,” Gaviria Betancourt wrote. Statement on December 22nd.
Israeli government spokesman Eilon Levy responded that his country asked Palestinians to move to a humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip, from where Hamas fired rockets.
“We hope that civilians will be protected in areas where Hamas is not yet using civilians as human shields,” Levy said on social media on December 26.
“Encouraging the mass displacement of Gazans is falsely labeling the majority of Gazans as ‘refugees’ and moving them to Israel through violent struggle instead of living in peace with us.” Only those who dream of doing so.”
The war began on October 7 when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages.
Since then, Gaza has been under near-constant shelling, and local officials say the Israeli military response has killed more than 22,300 people.
Mona Abumara, the Palestinian ambassador to Canada, reiterated that the public is concerned that Israel is attempting to vacate and occupy the Gaza Strip.
“I see ministers coming out and talking about destroying cities (or) dropping nuclear bombs on the Palestinian people,” Abu Amara, head of the Palestinian delegation to Canada, said in an interview last month. “I’m doing it,” he said.
In November, Prime Minister Netanyahu suspended Cultural Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu after he said in an interview that dropping nuclear bombs on Gaza was an option.
In March, Smotrich called for the West Bank village of Huwara to be “erased” following violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians.
“Israel wants to expel all Gazans, and you hear that every day. That’s the solution they think will bring the calm they want,” Abu Amara said, adding that many He added that he believes most Israelis do not agree with the way their government is run.
“Palestinians don’t want to leave their land.”
as it happened6:55Federal authorities will issue visas to 1,000 Gazans living in Canada with their families.This lawyer says that’s not enough.
The federal government has announced it will bring 1,000 people from Gaza to Canada under a new extended family program. Immigration lawyer Yamina Ansari supported the policy but said it did not go far enough. She told As It Happens guest host Megan Williams that visa caps would leave “hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinian-Canadian families” stranded. He said it would happen.
