Pope tells Abbas he opposes forced displacement of Palestinians
The Pope and Abbas' call marks their first meeting since Leo's papacy began in May 2025.
The call follows Israel's bombing of Gaza's only Catholic church last week, for which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a rare statement of apology amid widespread condemnation.
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Middle East Eye
3 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Extremist Israeli politicians and right-wing settlers hold Gaza annexation conference
Extremist Israeli politicians and right-wing settlers held a conference in Israel's parliament on Tuesday where they said the US had given them the "green light" to transform the besieged Gaza Strip into a "resort town" once they had completed the ethnic cleansing of more than two million Palestinians. Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel had received a "green light from the president of the United States to turn Gaza into a prosperous strip, a resort town with employment". "We will occupy Gaza and make it an inseparable part of Israel," Smotrich told a few dozen attendees at the event titled "The Gaza Riviera - From Vision to Reality". Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the defence ministry, said that "a proposed plan to relocate Gazans [Palestinians] to other countries will serve as a means of facilitating the settlement of the strip". He also said that he backed the idea of a "security annexation" of northern Gaza, claiming that the Israeli military's chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, supported the idea. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "I truly believe there is a tremendous opportunity here," he said, suggesting that Israel begin "with the northern border [area of the Strip] and establish three communities there. We are already talking about it. Some call it a 'security annexation'". There was no immediate comment from the US on Smotrich's remarks. The idea of turning Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East" was first floated by US President Donald Trump earlier this year. The plan has been criticised by regional and international heads of state, including leaders from Spain, France and China. Despite this, the plan still has the backing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and other prominent members of Israel's Knesset. 'A thirst for return' Tuesday's event, which was mainly attended by Israeli settlers and supporters of religious Zionist parties, routinely erupted into cheers and standing ovations when the speakers called for the takeover of Gaza. Right-wing Israeli politician Limor Son Har-Melech heaped praise on Israeli settlers and called them the successors of the Zionist leaders who established Israel in 1948. "We need to rebuild the Gaza Strip with Jewish cities," Har-Melech said, adding that there needed to be "big and fortified cities all over Gaza". "There is a thirst for return among the public. Not as a punishment, but because Jews belong to the Gaza Strip," she added. Gaza extermination: What is your last thought when you're starving to death? Read More » In September 2005, Israel relocated its forces and 8,000 settlers from 21 settlements in Gaza as part of a "disengagement plan" to the surrounding parts of Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Since the October 7 attacks, far-right groups and lawmakers have repeatedly talked up plans to re-establish the illegal settlements in Gaza. Israeli politician Zvi Sukkot echoed Har-Melech's remarks and said Israel was facing a unique moment and had "the power" to implement Trump's "vision". Israel has killed more than 59,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the healthcare system and led to severe food shortages. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. After the conference, Sukkot told Middle East Eye that Israel would not be "uprooting anyone from their homes", claiming "there is no forced deportation, Trump's plan does not talk about forced deportation". "What Trump said was that eventually they would emigrate to countries where it would be good for them to live. They won't fight all the time," Sukkot said. Right-wing groups present detailed plans for Gaza Despite his remarks, several of the conference speakers presented what they said was a clear future for Gaza - a land without Palestinians and a land only for Jews. The head of the settler Nachala movement, Daniella Weiss, said: "The Arab Gaza chapter is over." "In Gaza, there will never be an Arab, international or American government," she said. Weiss, who last week refused to condemn the killing and starvation of Palestinian children on Piers Morgan's eponymous TV show, said that after Israel defeats Hamas, "the state of Israel will allow the emigration of Palestinians". "Gaza is difficult to conquer because of its sanctity, but the day of the occupation of Gaza is coming." Weiss's fellow Nachala member, Lital Slonim, presented the movement's detailed plan for Jewish settlement. The Gaza playbook: Israel's five-step ethnic cleansing strategy Read More » "We are here to present a clear vision of how Gaza will become a flourishing place," Slonim said, adding: "This is one of the most beautiful areas in the State of Israel." The Nachala movement has been building illegal settlements on land in the occupied West Bank for decades. Earlier this year, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967 is unlawful and should end as soon as possible. According to the Nachala plan, some 300,000 housing units will be built in the enclave, the vast majority of which are in two main residential areas in the northern and southern parts of the strip. According to the plan, the area of the Gaza Strip would be populated by about 1.2 million Jews, who are expected to enjoy green spaces, transportation, industrial zones, hotels, a university and even a port. "The right of the people of Israel to the Gaza Strip is the same as to Jerusalem, Hebron and Tel Aviv," the plan states. Under the chapter "Civilian Migration as a Result of Wars - Implementation in the Gaza Region", it says that "the Gaza population has been revoked from the legitimacy to continue living in this area". "The removal of the civilian population, by choice and/or within the framework of an arrangement, is a necessary stage for the evacuation of the battlefield and its transformation into a space of Jewish life, agriculture, industry, tourism and settlement," the plan says. A similar plan was later presented titled: "The Way of the Sea - The Path to Victory" of the Gush Katif Residents' Forum. It was far more detailed and advocated for the construction of some 850,000 housing units. "The vision of the prophets, as well as the vision of the president of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump, will be realised in a flourishing and prosperous Jewish settlement," the plan said.
Middle East Eye
5 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Hunger in Gaza causing a 'horror show,' UN chief says
Malnourishment is soaring and starvation is knocking on every door in Gaza, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday, describing the situation in the Palestinian enclave as a "horror show". "And now we are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council. "That system is being denied the conditions to function. Denied the space to deliver. Denied the safety to save lives". - Reporting by Reuters
Middle East Eye
5 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Students at Netanyahu's former high school campaign for his removal from hall of fame
More than 200 students from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former high school in Pennsylvania have petitioned to oust him from their hall of fame. The students submitted a petition to the Cheltenham High Alumni Association last month to have a photo of the alumnus removed from the school's hall of fame, the New York Times reported on Friday. The campaigning students cited Netanyahu's arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which accuses him of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, as well his indictment on corruption charges in Israel. The New York Times reported that students sent an email to the alumni association that read: "When students see these alumni on the wall of fame as we walk past every day, we understand that these are people we should look up to, and we strive to be like them one day. "As such, we feel it is not right for him [Netanyahu] to continue to be recognised in our school." New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Netanyahu attended the high school for four years and graduated in 1967 while his family lived in Cheltenham Township. He was elected to the hall of fame in 1999, when he was serving his first term as prime minister. A decision is expected to be made in a closed-door meeting between officers from the alumni association and school district officials on 25 July. Middle East Eye reached out to the school for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication.
