Israel Creates Emigration Authority to Expel Palestinians From Gaza, Smotrich Says

Israel has formalized a plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza by creating a special agency inside the Ministry of Defense, according to L'Humanité.

“Limor Son Har Milkh, the deputy speaker of the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset), called for the expulsion of Gaza Strip residents and the establishment of Israeli settlements there, during a field tour she conducted today, Sunday, on the border of the Gaza Strip”

Al-Jazeera Net

The outlet says the new body, named the Emigration Authority, is tasked with carrying out a “large-scale logistical operation” aimed at relocating Gazans and finding “destination countries.”

Al-Jazeera Net

L'Humanité frames the creation of the agency as part of a broader campaign while “the Israeli army continues to relentlessly bombard the Gaza Strip,” killing 730 people since March 18, including “many children.”

The outlet adds that the security cabinet is “fulfilling its part of the contract,” describing the destruction of the territory as both a military and political objective.

It reports that the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated the Emigration Authority would be supervised jointly by the Ministry of Defense and the Prime Minister’s Office, Benjamin Netanyahu.

L'Humanité quotes Smotrich describing the agency’s mission as “a 'large-scale logistical operation' aimed at relocating the Palestinians from Gaza and finding them destination countries.”

It also says the agency is meant to orchestrate massive expulsion “under the cover of 'voluntary' resettlement.”

Multiple outlets depict Israeli political figures and institutions as moving from rhetoric about “transfer” and expulsion toward concrete planning.

France 24 describes “a public meeting at the Knesset” titled “The Riviera to Gaza: From Vision to Reality” held in Jerusalem on Tuesday, July 22, presenting “numerous right-wing Israeli officials” who “openly say they want to drive the Palestinians from their coastal territory.”

Contre Attaque

The outlet says the meeting began with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who advocates “long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip,” and reports that participants reviewed a “master plan” drafted by Daniella Weiss, founder of Nachala, which it says advocates “the forced emigration of Gazans and the recolonization of the Gaza Strip.”

France 24 reports Smotrich telling the meeting, “We have the green light from the American president to transform Gaza into a prosperous sector, a seaside resort, and business districts,” and adds that he said, “We can begin with small projects in the northern Gaza Strip and think bigger.”

It further quotes Smotrich: “We have the capacity to transfer Gazans to other countries, and we are working to implement it,” and “We will occupy Gaza and make it an integral part of the State of Israel.”

Contre Attaque, meanwhile, asserts that “Genocidal statements are not made in a vacuum in Israeli society” and says the deputy speaker of the Knesset, Nissim Vaturi, calls for mass execution of Gaza’s people “to 'erase the Gaza Strip from the surface of the earth,'” while also claiming “there are 'no innocents' on that territory.”

It adds that Vaturi described Palestinians as “'dirty trash and subhumans'” and threatened Jenin with total destruction, declaring: “We will soon transform Jenin into Gaza.”

The sources also present a wider set of voices—political figures, a deputy speaker, and polling figures—used to argue that expulsion and occupation are supported across Israeli society.

“Israel: the 'transfer' of Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip, a fantasy turned into a plan A public meeting at the Knesset, speeches calling for a 'transfer' of the population, and futuristic projections of a Gaza transformed into Tel Aviv… Numerous right-wing Israeli officials openly say they want to drive the Palestinians from their coastal territory”

France 24

Contre Attaque says a “new poll estimates that 82% of Jewish Israelis support the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza,” adding that “eight Israelis out of ten approve Netanyahu's project of ethnic cleansing.”

It also claims “56% of those surveyed want the expulsion of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank,” and says “47% of those polled answered 'yes' to the question: 'Do you support the claim that the [Israeli army], in conquering an enemy city, should act in a manner similar to that of the Israelites when they conquered Jericho under Joshua's leadership, i.e., kill all its inhabitants?'”

The outlet further reports that “Another poll conducted by Israeli Channel 13 on May 20 measured that 53% of Israelis think humanitarian aid should not be allowed into Gaza, only 34% think it should be allowed, and 13% did not express an opinion.”

It adds that “this poll includes all Israeli citizens, including the Palestinian minority with citizenship,” and claims that “70% of 'secular' Jews” support “the massive expulsion of Palestinians from the enclave.”

In parallel, Al-Jazeera Net quotes Limor Son Har Milkh, the deputy speaker of the Knesset, calling for expulsion and settlements during a field tour on the border of the Gaza Strip, saying, “There is no security for Israel except through occupation, expulsion, and settlement.”

The outlet reports her statement: “I arrived on a tour in the Gaza envelope (...) Unfortunately, Israel remains captive to a false idea. There is no escape from occupation, expulsion, and settlement.”

Several sources connect current “transfer” talk to earlier Israeli decisions and to a longer arc of settlement policy.

France 24 recalls that in 2005 Ariel Sharon ordered the evacuation of “the 21 Jewish settlements in this territory,” where “nearly 8,000 settlers lived,” after a unilateral Israeli withdrawal following “38 years of occupation.”

L'Humanité

It says the meeting’s “master plan” envisions annexation, “the construction of housing for 1.2 million Jews,” and “industrial and agricultural zones and tourist complexes along the coast,” describing a Gaza transformed into a “seaside resort” and “business districts.”

France 24 also links the plan to U.S. proposals, saying it “echoes the proposals of U.S. President Donald Trump to take control of Gaza and make it the 'Riviera' of the Middle East.”

In the same narrative, it says Netanyahu and members of his government have spoken “of moving Gaza's population, notably toward neighboring Egypt, or 'a voluntary departure of its inhabitants.'”

Contre Attaque, meanwhile, claims that “Genocidal statements are no longer rare among the circles of Israeli power” and says parliamentarians publicly defend “the idea of massacring children” and “bombing the last food stocks in the Palestinian enclave.”

It asserts that “Minister Smotrich states: 'We are destroying everything that remains in Gaza because the world does nothing to stop us.'”

The sources portray immediate and longer-term consequences, including investigations, international pressure, and the prospect of reoccupation and settlement.

“It seems that a broad political current in Israel not only dreams of re-settling the Gaza Strip and deporting its residents, but has begun to lay, taking advantage of the war waged by the Israeli army against the Strip, practical plans to implement it, as appeared at the conference held by supporters of this current in Jerusalem on January 28 of last year”

Al-Jarida Al-Quds

France 24 says the meeting took place “Ignoring growing international pressure regarding the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the Gaza Strip,” and it describes the far right’s belief that it can “recolonize the Palestinian territory.”

Al-Jarida Al-Quds

It reports that under the banner of “voluntarism,” the policy of “forced transfer of the civilian population” could “constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity,” citing that four NGOs based in Israel warned in a letter dated June 12 addressed to the Israeli Defense Minister, the Attorney General, and the Army's General Counsel.

France 24 also reports that on July 7 Defense Minister Israel Katz unveiled a plan to cluster the entire population of Gaza into a “humanitarian city,” initially hosting “about 600,000 displaced people from southern Gaza,” with relocation of the entire Gazan population in the long term.

It says Netanyahu has “tacking back and forth” on the issue, and it describes that in early May, “the Israeli” section cuts off in the provided text, but it does include the earlier claim that Netanyahu spoke of “a 'voluntary departure of its inhabitants.'”

L'Humanité frames the creation of the Emigration Authority as a mechanism to “carry out a 'large-scale logistical operation' aimed at relocating Gazans,” while the Israeli army continues bombardment and the security cabinet fulfills its role.

Al-Jazeera Net adds a legal-political consequence by stating that Limor Son Har Milkh “had proposed a law that would impose the death penalty by hanging on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis,” and it says “The Knesset approved this law on March 30, 2026.”