Israel's far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir laid out a seven-year plan for removing Gaza's population through "voluntary emigration", during a press conference on Thursday (September 3).

He said he would seek the creation of a “ministry in charge of emigration” in the next government.

Ben Gvir's Jewish Power party said in a statement on Thursday that Turkey, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were being considered as potential destinations.

Two Israeli ministers floated plans this week for the mass removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, resurfacing an idea voiced repeatedly by right-wing politicians over the past three years as they seek to rally supporters ahead of an election.

The calls by two of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition partners have revived Palestinian fears that Israel ultimately aims to forcibly expel them from Gaza despite U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the conflict there.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas government media office, said: "The Palestinian people are deeply rooted in their land and will not be intimidated by such threats."

Israel is due to hold a general election on October 27. It will be the first since Hamas-led attacks on Israel October 7, 2023 triggered an Israeli military campaign that laid waste to Gaza, which has a population of more than two million.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: UNKNOWN LOCATION (SEPTEMBER 3, 2026) (JEWISH POWER - Access all)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAEL'S NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER, ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, SAYING:

"We must take advantage of this historic opportunity to create a historic solution. Since the start of the war, I've been standing, shouting and demanding the implementation of the idea of encouraging emigration from Gaza."

2. WHITE FLASH

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAEL'S NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER, ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, SAYING:

"I remember when I spoke about the (worsening) conditions in prison, they told me that I was unrealistic, that I was delusional. When I spoke about the reform (distribution) of weapons (to civilians), they said that this cannot happen, and here it happened. I tell you that what I promised then and did, we can do the same thing with emigration. Our plan is a practical plan, a professional plan, a work plan that we promise to implement in the next term"

4. WHITE FLASH

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAEL'S NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER, ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, SAYING:

"The legal conclusion by all the legal advisors, the right to leave (Gaza) exists, but there is no automatic right to enter. So, it is clear that this is a free choice - we are not forcing the departure, but yes, it is encouraged."

6. WHITE FLASH

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAEL'S NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER, ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, SAYING:

"There are masses who want to pass, we need to allow them the correct transition, to take care of them in the country that we want them to emigrate to, for housing, for education, for health, it is possible. I am telling you, I sat in the most secret meetings, there are countries that have informed the state of Israel that they are willing to do that, in an exchange for a budget, for money, for all kinds of things that they asked the state of Israel for, but there are countries that are willing to do it."

8. WHITE FLASH

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAEL'S NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER, ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, SAYING:

"We are talking about our goals, 250,000 (leaving Gaza) in the first year, it is possible. 1.1 million in three years and in seven years we can reach almost 1.9 million who will emigrate, it is possible, it is realistic, it is in our hands, it is in our ability. But, for that we need - and this is what Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power party) is going to demand from Benjamin Netanyahu, next time, one: to establish a ministry, a ministry in charge of emigration, the ministry of emigration, to appoint a person in charge, who will be the minister of emigration. We will take this case upon ourselves."