Ex-PM Slams Israel’s ‘Humanitarian City’ Plan As Ethnic Cleansing Threat

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has voiced grave concern over the country's proposed "humanitarian city" in Gaza's Rafah.

Former PM Ehud Olmert slams Israel’s ‘Humanitarian City’ plan.

Source : PTI

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has condemned his country's proposed “humanitarian city” project in southern Gaza, warning that the plan resembles a concentration camp and could amount to ethnic cleansing. In an interview with The Guardian, Olmert called the initiative “a concentration camp”, expressing alarm at the potential consequences of forcibly relocating Palestinians into the proposed area.

The controversial plan, spearheaded by Defence Minister Israel Katz, proposes the construction of a large encampment on the ruins of Rafah to house up to 600,000 Palestinians, eventually expanding to accommodate the entire population of Gaza. Katz had earlier stated that Palestinians placed inside the camp would not be permitted to leave, except to travel to other countries.

A ‘Concentration Camp’ in Rafah

Olmert, who led Israel from 2006 to 2009, criticised the project in no uncertain terms. “It is a concentration camp. I am sorry,” he said, adding, “If they [Palestinians] will be deported into the new ‘humanitarian city’, then you can say that this is part of an ethnic cleansing. It hasn’t yet happened… but that would be the inevitable interpretation.”

“When they build a camp where they [plan to] ‘clean’ more than half of Gaza, then the inevitable understanding of the strategy of this [is that] it is not to save [Palestinians]. It is to deport them, to push them and to throw them away. There is no other understanding that I have, at least,” the ex-PM told the publication.

The project, reportedly backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has already caused friction in ceasefire negotiations. Rights groups and legal scholars have echoed Olmert’s concerns, describing the plan as a possible violation of international law. Some have gone as far as calling it a blueprint for crimes against humanity, with warnings that under certain conditions, it could even amount to genocide.

The government, however, maintains that the city is meant to provide safe haven for civilians. Critics argue that the plan, coupled with statements from ministers about “cleansing” Gaza and proposals for future Israeli settlements in the region.