A plan proposed by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz to build a special "humanitarian city" for 600,000 people in the Gaza Strip to ensure their security would in fact be a "concentration camp" for Palestinians, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who headed the country's government from 2006 to 2009, told the Guardian.
"It's a concentration camp. I'm sorry. If Palestinians are deported to a new 'humanitarian city', then you can say that this is part of ethnic cleansing," Olmert said.
Katz previously announced that he had instructed his ministry to begin preparing operational plans for the construction of a "humanitarian city" in southern Gaza, on the ruins of Rafah, which was destroyed during the conflict. The first phase is planned to accommodate 600,000 Palestinians after a thorough vetting process to ensure they have no links to the militant group Hamas.
Moreover, Palestinians will not be allowed to leave the "city", which will be administered by international organisations and guarded by the Israeli army. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that this is not his personal plan, but rather an initiative of his more right-wing coalition partners. However, sources in the Haaretz newspaper say that Katz's idea has the support of the prime minister.
Commenting on the Israeli defense minister's initiative, Ehud Olmert noted that the rhetoric defending the "humanitarian city" as a way to protect Palestinians from hostilities is not credible. "The necessary conclusion of this strategy is that its aim is not to save the Palestinians. It is to deport, displace and expel them. At least that's my understanding," stressed the former Prime Minister.
He also pointed out that the current campaign by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to evacuate Palestinians to "security zones" in southern Gaza is not ethnic cleansing, as the evacuation is taking place from areas where active military operations are taking place. It considers 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 centre-right political forces in Israel, was the predecessor of 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 2005 withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
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 peacekeepers in the south of the country.
The Guardian/TASS/gnews.cz - GH
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