The plan proposed by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to build a special "humanitarian city" for 600,000 people in the Gaza Strip to ensure their safety would, in fact, be a "concentration camp" for Palestinians, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in an interview with The Guardian. Olmert served as head of the Israeli government from 2006 to 2009.

"It is a concentration camp. I'm sorry. If Palestinians are deported to a new 'humanitarian city,' then it can be said that this is part of an ethnic cleansing," Olmert stated.

Gallant had previously announced that he had instructed his ministry to begin preparing operational plans for the construction of the "humanitarian city" in southern Gaza, on the ruins of Rafah, which was destroyed during the conflict. The initial plan is to house 600,000 Palestinians after a thorough vetting process to ensure they have no ties to the militant group Hamas.

Furthermore, Palestinians would not be allowed to leave the territory of the "city," which would be managed by international organizations and guarded by the Israeli army. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that this is not his personal plan, but rather an initiative of more right-wing coalition partners. However, sources from the newspaper Haaretz claim that Gallant's idea has the support of the Prime Minister.

Ehud Olmert, commenting on the initiative of the Israeli Defense Minister, noted that the rhetoric defending the "humanitarian city" as a way to protect Palestinians from hostile actions is not credible. "The necessary conclusion of this strategy is that its goal is not to save Palestinians. It is their deportation, expulsion, and banishment. At least, that is how I understand it," the former Prime Minister emphasized.

He also pointed out that the current campaign by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to evacuate Palestinians to "safe zones" in southern Gaza is not an ethnic cleansing, because the evacuation is taking place from areas where active military operations are underway. He believes that these actions are legal under international humanitarian law, but the creation of a "city" to house Palestinians would already be a war crime.

Olmert, who supports liberal and center-right political forces in Israel, was the predecessor to the current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who took office in 2009 after the elections. Before becoming Prime Minister, Olmert played a key role as Deputy Prime Minister in the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

He has long advocated for the separation of Israel and Palestine and for bilateral dialogue. His premiership also coincided with the Second Lebanon War in 2006, which ended with the temporary occupation of part of Lebanon and the subsequent deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in the south of the country.

The Guardian/TASS/gnews.cz - GH