Israel’s plan to build a so-called “humanitarian city” on the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza has been strongly criticised by two former Israeli Prime Ministers. They say the plan would trap Palestinians in what is effectively “a concentration camp”, and could amount to ethnic cleansing amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
What is Israel’s “Humanitarian City” plan?
Defence Minister Israel Katz has proposed building a new settlement to house hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by Israeli military actions. The plan is to start with around 600,000 people and eventually relocate Gaza’s entire population of over two million into this one area. Katz has said Palestinians would not be allowed to leave the city except to travel abroad.
Former Israeli Prime Ministers condemn “Humanitarian City” plan
Ehud Olmert, who led Israel from 2006 to 2009, was clear in his condemnation. Speaking to The Guardian, he said: “It is a concentration camp. I am sorry.”
Olmert warned that forcing Palestinians into the “humanitarian city” would be ethnic cleansing.
“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,” he 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.”
Yair Lapid, another former prime minister and current opposition leader, also criticised the plan. On Israeli Army Radio, he said: “It’s a bad idea from every possible perspective – security, political, economic, logistical.”
He added, “I don’t prefer to describe a humanitarian city as a concentration camp, but if exiting it is prohibited, then it is a concentration camp.”
International concerns and humanitarian warnings
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), raised serious concerns. He asked if this plan could lead to a “second Nakba” — the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948.
Lazzarini said the plan would “de facto create massive concentration camps at the border with Egypt for the Palestinians, displaced over and over across generations,” and would “deprive Palestinians of any prospects of a better future in their homeland”.
The reality on the ground in Gaza
Satellite images show that demolitions in Rafah have increased sharply, with destroyed buildings rising from about 15,800 in April to over 28,000 by July, per Al Jazeera. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening, with tens of thousands of Palestinians already killed and aid operations struggling to cope.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed group, has proposed “humanitarian transit areas” where Palestinians could “temporarily reside, deradicalise, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so”.
Critics say this is part of a wider plan to force Palestinians out of Gaza.
What comes next in Gaza?
The Israeli government insists moving Palestinians to the “humanitarian city” would be voluntary. However, many observers and aid groups disagree, pointing to the harsh conditions and lack of choice for Palestinians.
Neighbouring countries and Arab states have rejected any plans to displace Gaza’s population.
Meanwhile, the international community continues to watch closely as the genocide unfolds.
Lead image: AP News / Getty
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