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As Israel Pulls Plug on Gaza, Smotrich Says Trump's Ethnic Cleansing Plan 'Taking Shape'
"By openly trying to starve and freeze an entire civilian population to death, the far-right government of indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu has once again clearly demonstrated its genocidal intent in Gaza," said CAIR.
Mar 09, 2025
Israel's finance minister said Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza is proceeding, remarks that came on the same day as Israel completely cut off electricity from the last receiving facility in the obliterated Palestinian enclave.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Religious Zionism party told fellow Knesset lawmakers that "this plan is taking shape, with ongoing actions in coordination" with the Trump administration.
Smotrich said that he is working with Cabinet members including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to establish a "migration administration" that will oversee the removal of an indeterminate number of Gaza's approximately 2.1 million people, most of whom are descendants of Palestinians who fled or were ethnically cleansed from what is now Israel during the modern Jewish state's founding in 1948.
While Smotrich insisted that Palestinian removal would be "voluntary," it is highly questionable whether many Palestinians would leave what remains of their homeland of their own free will, or what kind of incentives it would take to convince them to go.
Last month, Trump—who on Wednesday threatened to kill everyone in Gaza unless Hamas handed over the dozens of remaining Israeli and other hostages it has held for over 500 days—vowed that the U.S. would "own" Gaza.
U.S. developers, the president said, will "level" Gaza and build the "Riviera of the Middle East" there after Palestinians—"all of them"—leave. Asked if his plan involved sending U.S. troops to Gaza, Trump replied, "If it's necessary, we'll do that."
Forced removal of people by an occupying power is a war crime according to Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, under which Israel's apartheid settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are also illegal.
Smotrich said Sunday that the so-called Trump Plan "involves identifying key countries, understanding their interests—both with the U.S. and with us—and fostering cooperation."
"Just to give you an idea—if we remove 10,000 people a day, seven days a week, it will take six months," Smotrich said. "If we remove 5,000 people a day, it will take a year. Of course, this is assuming we have countries willing to take them, but these are very, very, very long processes."
Leaders of both Egypt and Jordan, where Trump has proposed sending Gazans, vehemently oppose the plan. A counterproposal issued by Egypt and other Arab nations—which involves rebuilding Gaza without forcibly displacing its residents—has the support of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation and nations including China, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.
Smotrich's remarks came on the same day that Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said that he "just signed an order for the immediate halt of electricity to the Gaza Strip" as part of a policy to use "all of the tools that are at our disposal to ensure the return of all the hostages."
Smotrich weighed in on the power cut, arguing that "the Gaza Strip must be completely and immediately blacked out as long as even one Israeli hostage is being held there."
Israeli officials believe 24 hostages are still alive in Gaza, including 22 Israelis, one Thai, and one Nepali. The bodies of 35 hostages who died or were killed after their abduction are also being held in Gaza.
"Israel must bomb the huge fuel depots that entered the strip as part of the unfortunate deal, as well as the generators operated by Hamas," Smotrich said, referring to the crumbling cease-fire that went into effect on January 19. Israel stands accused of nearly 1,000 violations of the truce.
In recent days, renewed but limited Israeli airstrikes and statements from Israeli leaders about resuming a full assault on Gaza have further imperiled the shaky cease-fire.
Electricity was first cut off to Gaza in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, as then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a "complete siege" of the coastal strip. The ongoing blockade has fueled deadly starvation, disease, and exposure.
Along with Israel's bombardment and invasion—which have left more than 170,000 Palestinians dead, maimed or missing in Gaza—the siege is cited in the South Africa-led genocide case currently before the International Court of Justice. Netanyahu and Gallant are also wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri is also a fugitive from the ICC.
Humanitarian groups warned that the suspension of electricity to Gaza could force the shutdown of the strip's two functioning desalination plants, reducing the already scarce supply of fresh water.
However, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said Sunday that the electricity cutoff probably wouldn't have much impact, given the existing siege. But Qassem still called the move "behavior that confirms the occupation's intent to continue its genocidal war against Gaza, through the use of starvation policies, in clear disregard for all international laws and norms."
Hamas further slammed the Israeli move as "cheap and unacceptable blackmail."
In the United States, the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned what it called "Israel's latest act of genocide in Gaza."
"By openly trying to starve and freeze an entire civilian population to death, the far-right government of indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu has once again clearly demonstrated its genocidal intent in Gaza," CAIR said in a statement. "Banning food, water, fuel, medical supplies—and now electricity—threatens the lives of everyone in Gaza."
"The United States and other western nations must stop treating Palestinians as less than human and stop giving this one government impunity as it flagrantly violates international law," the group added.
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As Freed Palestinians Describe Torture, Trump OKs $3 Billion Arms Package for Israel
Like the Biden administration, Trump is claiming an "emergency" in order to bypass Congress.
Feb 28, 2025
As Palestinians released from Israeli imprisonment recount torture and other abuse suffered at the hands of their former captors, the Trump administration on Friday approved a new $3 billion weapons package for Israel.
The new package, reported by Zeteo's Prem Thakker, includes nearly $2.716 billion worth of bombs and weapons guidance kits, as well as $295 million in bulldozers. The Trump administration said that "an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale," allowing it to bypass Congress, as the Biden administration did on multiple occasions. However, the weapons won't be delivered until 2026 or 2027.
The Trump-Vance State Department just approved $3.01 billion in arms & equipment sales to Israel $2.04 billion in bombs $675.7 million in bombs & weapon guidance kits $295 million in bulldozers Administration said "an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale," waiving congressional review
[image or embed]
— Prem Thakker ツ ( @premthakker.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 4:56 PM
From October 2023 to October 2024, Israel received a record $17.9 billion worth of U.S. arms as it waged a war of annihilation against the Gaza Strip that left more than 170,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing and millions more displaced, starved, or sickened. Israel is facing genocide allegations in an International Court of Justice case brought by South Africa. The International Criminal Court has also issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Reporting on the new package came after U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday announced an effort to block four other arms sales totaling $8.56 billion in offensive American weaponry to Israel.
Meanwhile, some of the approximately 1,000 Palestinians released by Israel as part of a prisoner swap described grim stories of abuse by Israeli forces. The former detainees, who were arrested but never charged with any crimes, "have returned visibly malnourished and scarred by the physical and psychological torture they say they faced in Israeli prisons," according toThe Washington Post. Some returned to what were once their homes to find them destroyed and their relatives killed or wounded by Israeli forces.
Eyas al-Bursh, a doctor volunteering at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City when he was captured by Israeli troops, was held in Sde Teiman and the Ofer military prison in the illegally occupied West Bank for 11 months.
"The places where we were held were harsh, sleep was impossible, and we remained handcuffed and blindfolded," al-Bursh told the Post.
"We endured psychological and physical torture without a single day of respite—whether through beatings, abuse, punches, or even verbal insults and humiliation," he added.
The Israel Defense Forces told the Post that it "acts in accordance with Israeli and international law in order to protect the rights of the detainees held in the detention and questioning facilities."
However, farmer Ashraf al-Radhi, who was held for 14 months—including at the notorious Sde Teiman prison in Israel's Negev Desert—told the Post that "we witnessed all kinds of humiliation."
According to the newspaper:
Radhi said he "wished for death" during his detention, which included long periods when he was blindfolded, handcuffed, andcrammed into a filthy cell with dozens of other prisoners. The 34-year-old said he had no access to a lawyer; no idea why he was there; or what, in his absence, had become of his family.
Rahdi also said that Mohammed al-Akka, a 44-year-old detainee held with him, died last December. Al-Akka is one of dozens of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli custody, some from suspected torture and, in at least one case, after alleged rape with an electric baton. A number of Israeli reservists are being investigated for the alleged gang-rape of a Sde Teiman prisoner.
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'Unconscionable' for EU to Roll Out Red Carpet for Israeli Foreign Minister, Says Amnesty
"Discussions on the E.U.'s future relationship with Israel should above all be premised on an insistence that Netanyahu and Gallant face justice at the ICC for the crimes they are alleged to have committed."
Feb 21, 2025
Amnesty International is calling out the European Union for planning to welcome Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar to Belgium next Monday even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant face arrest warrants for Israel's genocidal assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The human rights group joined historians, political leaders, and United Nations experts in condemning Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide in December—just two weeks after the International Criminal Court (ICC) formally issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.
"It is unconscionable that the E.U. is rolling out the red carpet for foreign minister Sa'ar whose boss, Prime Minister Netanyahu, is wanted by the ICC," Eve Geddie, director at the Amnesty International European Institutions Office, said in a Thursday statement about the foreign minister's trip to Brussels for an E.U.-Israel Association Council meeting.
"Discussions on the E.U.'s future relationship with Israel should above all be premised on an insistence that Netanyahu and Gallant face justice at the ICC for the crimes they are alleged to have committed, as well as on Israel's adherence to international law and an end to apartheid," Geddie argued. "E.U. leaders must put their commitments to international law, human rights, and the ICC above carefully choreographed diplomatic conferences with Israel."
"E.U. leaders should be deciding what measures to take to prevent the E.U. from aiding Israeli genocide, apartheid, and unlawful occupation instead of brushing these under the carpet for a diplomatic handshake in Brussels."
Geddie also highlighted threats against the ICC, including U.S. President Donald Trump's recent executive order sanctioning the court, which he announced shortly after welcoming Netanyahu to the White House earlier this month. Critics decried the sanctions, which followed the U.S. government—largely under former President Joe Biden—enabling Israel's destruction of Gaza with billions of dollars in military assistance.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty's secretary general, said at the time that the "aggressive," "reckless," and "vindictive" order suggests "Trump endorses the Israeli government's crimes and is embracing impunity." She also urged governments and regional organizations to "do everything in their power to mitigate and block the effect" of the sanctions.
Geddie said Thursday that "the E.U.'s shameful silence on threats to the ICC and lack of urgent practical mitigating measures which it should have already taken following President Trump's egregious sanctions on the ICC, gives the firm impression that the E.U. has prioritized relations with a government implicated in the commission of genocide and war crimes, over support to an institution which is pursuing individual accountability for these crimes."
"E.U. leaders should be deciding what measures to take to prevent the E.U. from aiding Israeli genocide, apartheid, and unlawful occupation instead of brushing these under the carpet for a diplomatic handshake in Brussels," she concluded.
Amnesty's statement—which captured attention from the Israeli press—comes as the pro-Palestinian Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) seeks an ICC warrant for Sa'ar over "war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel's ongoing military assault on Gaza since October 7, 2023."
"As Belgium is a signatory to the Rome Statute, it has a legal obligation to cooperate with the ICC and take action against individuals accused of serious international crimes," HRF said Sunday, referring to the treaty that established the court. "The Hind Rajab Foundation calls on Belgian authorities to ensure that Sa'ar does not evade justice while on European soil."
"Allowing a suspected war criminal to visit Brussels unchallenged would be a betrayal of international legal commitments and the fundamental principles of justice," added the group, named for a 5-year-old girl killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza.
A fragile cease-fire and hostage release deal took effect in Gaza last month, but Israel has repeatedly violated it, in addition to Israeli forces and settlers escalating attacks on Palestinians across the illegally occupied West Bank.
"The Israeli occupation has violated the cease-fire agreement more than 350 times since it was signed, clearly demonstrating its continued breach of commitments and its defiance of the international community," Ismail al-Thawabteh, head of the Government Media Office in Hamas-governed Gaza, said Friday, according toAnadolu Agency.
Amid threats of retaliation from Netanyahu, Hamas also said Friday that it was investigating claims that human remains the group gave to Israel on Thursday as part of the cease-fire deal did not include those of hostage Shiri Bibas.
Hamas has said that an Israeli airstrike killed Bibas and her sons Kfir and Ariel—whose remains were positively identified after being handed over to Israel—with al-Thawabteh saying that Netanyahu "bears full responsibility for killing her and her children." He said Friday that Bibas' body "was turned into pieces after apparently being mixed with other bodies under the rubble."
In preparation for Monday's meeting, EUobserver reported Friday that according to a draft joint communiqué, European foreign ministers intend to tell Sa'ar that "displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes," and they are "rejecting any attempt at demographic or territorial changes in the Gaza Strip."
"The E.U. is gravely concerned that the occupation of the Palestinian territory that began in 1967 continues to this day, underlining... that the International Court of Justice has found that the continued presence of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful," the document reportedly says. It also warns that the bloc "is ready to take work forward on further restrictive measures against extremist settlers [in the West Bank] and against entities and organizations which support them."
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