France accused of working with Israel to 'voluntarily' evacuate over 100 Gaza academics

France has been accused of complicity in the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza by cooperating with Israel, following reports it aided with the "voluntary evacuation" of at least 115 highly qualified Palestinians from the enclave.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor published a video showing what appeared to be a group of Palestinians from Gaza at the departure gate of Ramon Airport, in southern Israel.

In a statement provided to the Gaza-based Safa agency, Euro-Med director Dr Ramy Abdu said that the French consulate had been involved with Israel to "implement a plan to displace Palestinian professionals and their families from the Gaza Strip," calling the move "dangerous".

The date and identity of those appearing in the video has not yet been confirmed, however.

Abdu described the so-called evacuation plan as a "forced displacement" of Palestinians "carried out in complete secrecy and under the direct protection of the Israeli army".

"This operation is part of a broader Israeli plan aimed at emptying Gaza of its scientific and humanitarian elite, in coordination with international parties, most notably France," he added, calling France’s cooperation with Israel a "flagrant violation of international law".

He said Palestinians are being gathered at dawn on buses in the centre of the Gaza Strip, before being transported to Ramon Airport under the protection of Israel.

"There is talk of the possibility of transporting them later via the King Hussein Bridge to Jordan," he added.

The Euro-Med monitor director later published an Arabic-language statement from what appears to be the French embassy detailing travel plans to Jordan via buses and instructions over what to do and which paperwork to present upon arrival to the Jordanian border.

The notice also says that French embassy representatives will be there to greet them, before they spend the night in a hotel and leave for France the following day.

A French official on Wednesday confirmed to The Times of Israel that Paris did evacuate over 100 Palestinians from the war-battered territory in alleged "efforts to evacuate French nationals, Palestinians working for France and their relatives or any others with links to the country".

The official said the group was evacuated due to "health and humanitarian reasons".

Speaking to The New Arab, Abdu said the move has also raised questions over what "exactly constitutes" Palestinians with links to France and why they weren't evacuated during the first week of Israel's onslaught in Gaza. 

He also added that "favouring" high-ranking individuals could be interpreted as an "attempt to empty  Gaza's society from its intellectual and cultural elite, which risks contributing to its long-term depletion".

However, Abdu said France's actions raises questions over why wasn't priority given to those in need of medical evacuation, particularly children.

The Euro-Med director said France's cooperation with Israel is shrouded in secrecy and a lack of transparency, which is "fuelling concerns" among Palestinians that foreign parties are complicit in US and Israeli intentions to ethnically cleanse Gaza.

"While Palestinians have a right to seek safety and refuge, facilitating departures while taking no effective measures to stop Israel from creating the horrific conditions that compel some Palestinians to leave their homeland may ultimately amount to complicity in Israel's plans to empty Gaza of its people."

The New Arab contacted the French embassy in Israel as well as the Israeli embassy in London, but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

This comes amid France's criticism of Israel's bombardment in Gaza, and its ongoing siege of the territory. In April, President Emmanuel Macron also said Paris may recognise Palestinian statehood in June.

Earlier this month, reports emerged that Israel was forcibly removing Palestinians from Gaza under the guise of "voluntary migration".

Israel’s interior minister Moshe Arbel had confirmed that more than 16 planes carrying Palestinians out of Gaza were organised, without specifying the number of Gazans being removed or their destination.

In February, extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir introduced a bill proposing the "voluntary migration" of Gaza’s residents, where Palestinians, should they agree, must pledge to never return to the territory.

Israel has been accused of seeking to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip as part of its indiscriminate war on the territory, while US President Donald Trump also put forward a plan to turn it into a beach resort after ethnically cleansing its residents last February.

Israel has killed over 51,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, amid widespread accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing.  Thousands of uncounted victims are believed to be trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.