Israel's 'Humanitarian City' Atop Rafah Ruins Increases Tension in Israel
During a meeting of the 'narrow cabinet' on Sunday evening, the security establishment presented new data showing that the project would take about a year or more to complete, at a cost of tens of billions of shekels, contrary to earlier estimates of five to six months.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the current plan, calling it unfeasible and unacceptable, and demanded a plan that could be implemented within a reasonable timeframe.
Meanwhile, he reaffirmed his intention to move forward with a ceasefire deal but emphasized that Israel reserves the right to resume the war at a later stage.
A military source present at the meeting said that evacuating the tens of thousands of residents, as the plan requires, would take several months at least.
Tensions are expected to persist, with another narrow cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday, followed by a full meeting of the security-political cabinet on Wednesday to continue discussions on the plan's future.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the 'humanitarian city' that the Israeli government wants to build on the ruins of Rafah would be a concentration camp. 'There is no other understanding.'
'It is a concentration camp. I am sorry,' he told the Guardian newspaper.
'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,' Olmert said.
'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,' he added.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has also criticised the government's plan, saying if Palestinians are not allowed to leave, the plan amounts to creating a concentration camp.
Israeli military also said Gaza 'Humanitarian City' could jeopardize hostage negotiations, outlining logistical, operational, and diplomatic challenges surrounding the proposal.
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