Former Israeli leader says planned ‘humanitarian city' in Gaza would be a ‘concentration camp'
Defense Minister Israel Katz said last week he had told the military to advance plans for the zone, which would eventually contain the entire population of Gaza. The area would be built on the ruins of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, and once Palestinians enter the zone, they would not be allowed to leave. Katz also vowed to implement a plan for the emigration of Palestinians from Gaza.
'It is a concentration camp. I am sorry,' Olmert told The Guardian newspaper on Sunday. 'If they (Palestinians) will be deported into the new 'humanitarian city', then you can say that this is part of an ethnic cleansing.'
CNN has reached out to the Prime Minister's Office for comment.
Olmert has previously blasted the conduct of the Israeli military in Gaza and the country's political leadership. In May, he said he could no longer defend Israel against accusations of war crimes. 'What is it if not a war crime?' he asked rhetorically in an interview with CNN. He said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right members of his government are 'committing actions which can't be interpreted any other way.'
More than 58,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The latest comments from Olmert, who served as Israel's prime minister from 2006-2009, go much further in criticizing the country's intentions in Gaza, however, especially since comparisons to Nazi concentration camps in Israel is considered virtually unthinkable. But Olmert said it was the 'inevitable interpretation' of the plans.
'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,' Olmert told the Guardian.
Katz's plans for what he dubbed the 'humanitarian city' were discussed at a meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday evening, according to a source familiar with the matter. But after Israeli news outlets reported that it would take months to build the zone and billions of dollars, the source said Netanyahu asked to make its establishment shorter and less expensive.
Yair Lapid, the head of Israel's opposition, blasted the plans as an attempt by Netanyahu to let his far-right government partners 'run wild with extreme fantasies just to preserve his coalition.' In a statement on social media, Lapid called to 'end the war and bring back the hostages.'
Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights lawyer, told CNN last week that Katz's plan amounts to the forcible transfer of a population in preparation for deportation. Both of these are war crimes, Sfard said.
'If they are done on a massive scale – whole communities – they can amount to crimes against humanity,' Sfard added, dismissing the notion that any departure from Gaza could be considered voluntary.
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Politico
43 minutes ago
- Politico
Cash, clicks and cred in IL-09 showdown
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Lammy hints at sanctions for Israeli minister over Gaza camp plans
Israel's defence minister could face UK sanctions over a proposal to force Palestinians into a closed section of the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Secretary has hinted. David Lammy has condemned defence minister Israel Katz, who has reportedly put forward plans to move 600,000 Palestinians to a so-called 'humanitarian city' in Rafah, Gaza's now largely destroyed southern-most city. They would then be prevented from leaving, with the aim being to eventually move the entire population to the city. He told the Commons International Development Committee on Wednesday that 'no defence minister should be talking about effectively holding people, unable to leave, presumably, in the manner in which he described'. Asked whether Mr Katz would be sanctioned, as other Israeli ministers had been over comments inciting violence against Palestinians, Mr Lammy told the committee he could not comment on future sanctions. But he added: 'You will have heard my statement about Minister Katz and you will have heard my statements previously about ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, and then the decision that I took.' The UK sanctioned Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich 'in their personal capacity' in June, citing their 'repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians'. Prior to those sanctions, Mr Lammy had described comments by Mr Ben-Gvir and Mr Smotrich on Palestinian 'emigration' from Gaza as 'dangerous, extreme and totally wrong'. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway also sanctioned the two men at the same time, but the decision brought criticism from US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who said it did not 'advance' efforts to secure a ceasefire. Last week, Mr Lammy told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that the Government could take further action against Israel if a ceasefire in Gaza was not achieved. On Wednesday, Mr Lammy also stressed the Government's opposition to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has replaced UN aid distribution centres with just four sites in militarised zones run by private security contractors. Hundreds of Palestinians are reported to have been killed or wounded while seeking aid at GHF sites. Mr Lammy told the International Development Committee the GHF system 'must not set a precedent' and was 'outwith of global norms and rules that we all signed up to after the Second World War' as he called for more aid trucks to be allowed into Gaza.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Aurora Mayor John Laesch to hear from community through town hall tour
Aurora residents will get the chance to give feedback about the city directly to Mayor John Laesch through a series of town halls planned across late July and August. The Community Listening and Action Town Hall Tour, officially announced late Monday, will be held four Saturdays in a row beginning on July 26. The workshops will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at locations across the city designed to cover each of the 10 wards, according to a city news release. 'We want to give the community an opportunity to provide feedback on the state of Aurora,' Laesch said in the news release. 'This listening tour will help my staff and I to better understand what our residents want to see from us and the City over the next four years.' The first stop in the series will be at Metea Valley High School, 1801 N. Eola Road, a location that city officials say will cover the 1st Ward and the 10th Ward, on July 26. On the following Saturday, Aug. 2, a session will be held at the city's Public Works building at 2185 Liberty Street, which is for residents of the 2nd Ward, 3rd Ward and 7th Ward. Residents of the 8th Ward and 9th Ward will get their town hall on Aug. 9 at the Eola Community Center, located at 555 S. Eola Road. The last stop on the tour will be on Aug. 16 at the Prisco Community Center, 150 W. Illinois Avenue, for residents of the 4th Ward, 5th Ward and 6th Ward. Translation services and devices will be available upon request, and childcare will be available at the Eola Community Center session and the Prisco Community Center session. Residents can reserve their seat ahead of time at Each of the sessions will give residents the chance to work directly with city leadership, according to the city news release. 'We want to be responsive to the needs of our residents,' Aurora Chief of Staff Shannon Cameron said in the release. 'These town halls will not only assist us in serving the city, but also encourage civic engagement, helping to build towards the goal of a people-centered government.' Laesch was talking about doing a citywide listening tour even before he was sworn in as mayor. On election night in April, he said he wanted to use the tour to introduce himself to the city's different communities and share his vision for the future of Aurora, but also to listen to residents' concerns so the city can be more responsive. His number one goal as mayor, he said on election night, would be to respond to Aurora residents. Already, Laesch has held listening sessions for those in downtown, specifically within the city's Special Service Area Number One.
