Israel's far-right extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir revealed a plan on Thursday to forcibly expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and send them abroad, in a move that would be classed as a war crime.
Speaking in the run-up to close-fought Israeli elections, he said the plan aimed to see the forced removal of 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in the first year, followed by the rest of the roughly two million residents over the following six years.
"It's realistic," said Ben Gvir, claiming that some countries were "ready" to take in Palestinians, without naming them.
"We must encourage the emigration of Gaza's inhabitants," he said.
Forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is considered a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
The comments are the latest in a series of genocidal remarks, threats and videos shared by the minister, whose actions have been condemned globally.
For Palestinians, any effort to force them off their land would recall the "Nakba", or catastrophe -- their mass killing and displacement which paved the way for Israel's creation in 1948.
Inflammatory comments from Ben Gvir, who is a key minister in the right-wing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, regularly draw international denunciations.
Ben Gvir said his right-wing populist Jewish Power party would demand "a ministry in charge of emigration" during the formation of the next government, adding that his plan was "the result of a year and a half of work and... is concrete".
In a 20-page document titled "National Work Plan for Voluntary Emigration from the Gaza Strip," a copy of which AFP has seen, Ben Gvir further says his plan offers a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The 27 October vote is expected to be close, and there is no guarantee that the parties currently in power will remain so after then.
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said his country was ready with plans to remove Palestinians from Gaza if the United States gave its approval.
Katz has for several months been advocating such a measure.
Far-right and extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has even proposed extending the measure to Palestinians in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
US President Donald Trump, at the start of his second term, stunned much of the world by calling for all Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip.
Trump spoke of developing the Mediterranean territory, devastated by Israeli bombardment since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, into a luxury resort destination.
He then walked back the idea following strong pushback, including from Egypt, the only country other than Israel to border Gaza.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 73,470 Palestinians in Gaza since 2023, and more than 1,330 others since the October ceasefire, which Israel has continued to violate.