Israel’s security cabinet has approved a controversial proposal to facilitate Palestinian emigration from Gaza, a move critics warn could amount to ethnic cleansing.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday said the security cabinet approved the proposal by Defense Minister Israel Katz to organize “a voluntary transfer for Gaza residents who express interest in moving to third countries, in accordance with Israeli and international law, and following the vision of US President Donald Trump.”

The decision marks a remarkable endorsement of a plan once considered a far-right fantasy – and comes despite the prime minister’s earlier pledge not to permanently displace Gaza’s civilian population.

Critics have said that any mass displacement of Gazans in the midst of a devastating war would amount to ethnic cleansing, an act associated with war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law. Israeli officials have countered that emigration would be voluntary and in line with international legal standards.

But aid groups argue that Israel’s war has made life in Gaza nearly impossible. Martin Griffiths, the United Nations’ top emergency relief official, has called the enclave “uninhabitable,” saying its people are “witnessing daily threats to their very existence.”

The Israeli approval would establish an administration within the defense ministry “to prepare and facilitate the safe and controlled movement of Gaza residents who wish to voluntarily move to third countries,” according to a statement from the defense ministry.

Its work would include “establishing movement routes, pedestrian checks at designated crossings in the Gaza Strip,” and infrastructure to enable people to leave.

Israeli officials have presented the plan as a fulfillment of a desire by Trump to take over Gaza, expel its Palestinian population to neighboring countries and turn it into a Middle Eastern “riviera.”

Trump’s ‘vision’

Katz said Sunday that Israel is using “all means to implement the vision of the US president,” according to the defense ministry statement.

This month, Trump appeared to backtrack on his comments about displacing Palestinians, telling reporters that “nobody is expelling any Palestinians.” Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, said last month that the US initiative to rebuild Gaza won’t necessarily amount to an “eviction plan” and that it was designed to “shake up everybody’s thinking.”

Last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country had no intention to displace Palestinians or occupy Gaza.

“I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population,” Netanyahu said in a video statement in January 2024.

Trump’s proposal has, however, brought the idea further into the mainstream, with Israeli politicians now openly discussing mass emigration of Gazans as a solution to the war. And Katz last week said that Israel may maintain a permanent presence in the enclave.

Israeli rights group Peace Now criticized the plan, saying “the establishment of the administration to expel Palestinians from Gaza is one of the stupidest moves by a government that has lost all direction and logical thinking.”

The prospect has also drawn sharp rebuke from Arab leaders, especially Egypt and Jordan, who would be expected to absorb the large number of expelled Palestinians. Experts have also warned that displacing Palestinians would further destabilize the region and threaten the security of neighboring states.

Smotrich said Sunday that the security cabinet also approved the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, noting that 13 areas in the West Bank would be split from existing settlements and would be recognized as independent settlements.

“Instead of hiding and apologizing – we are raising the flag, building, and settling. This is another important step on the path to actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” he said, using the name by which Israelis refer to the West Bank.

The Yesha Council, an umbrella body representing Jewish settlements, said that as of January 2024, there were 150 settlements in the West Bank.

It said that the decision exposes a “long-standing lie that (Israel) does not establish new settlements, but only ‘neighborhoods’ of existing settlements” and that it is “another nail in the coffin that the Government of Israel is preparing for the only chance for a future of peace and security.”

A statement sent by Smotrich’s office said the move comes against “the backdrop of the approval of tens of thousands of housing units in Judea and Samaria and represents another significant step in the process of normalizing and regulating the settlement.”

Smotrich and other right-wing ministers have been pushing an aggressive expansion of settlements on the path to declaring Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, which would be in defiance of international law and UN Security Council resolutions.

The Palestinian co-director of Oscar-winning film “No Other Land” Hamdan Ballal was beaten up by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and taken away by Israeli soldiers, his colleagues and eyewitnesses said.

Outside Ballal’s home was a group of Israeli settlers, some of whom were throwing stones. Israeli police and military were also outside the home and Israeli soldiers were firing at anyone who tried to get close, he said.

Yuval Abraham, another co-director of the film, who is Israeli, said Ballal had sustained injuries to his head and abdomen in the attack and had not been heard from since. Abraham did not witness the incident himself.

Five American activists from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence (CJNV) who were also at the scene said they too had been assaulted by Israeli settlers. They said more than a dozen settlers had attacked the village, wielding batons, knives and at least one assault rifle, following a dispute involving an Israeli settler who was shepherding near a Palestinian home.

Jenna, an activist who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said she and her colleagues were attacked by around 20 masked settlers when they approached Susya that night. Her group did not witness Ballal’s arrest.

Josh Kimelman, who was in the same group, said Israeli soldiers witnessed the incident but did nothing to prevent it.

Earlier this month, Ballal, Adra and Abraham had all stood alongside each other to accept the Oscar for best documentary. The joint Israeli-Palestinian team’s film recounts the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank.

Ballal had documented his interactions with settlers, including threats of violence from a settler who claimed God had given him Ballal’s land.

Ballal said he called the police but to no avail.

“No Other Land” documents the continued demolition by Israeli authorities of Masafer Yatta, a collection of villages in the Hebron mountains of the West Bank where Adra lives with his family. The documentary highlights the Israeli government’s efforts to evict the villagers by force, with viewers seeing the local playground being torn down, the killing of Adra’s brother by Israeli soldiers, and other attacks by Jewish settlers while the community tries to survive.

The film also explores the human connection between Adra and Abraham.

Israel is making plans for a potential major ground offensive in Gaza that would involve sending tens of thousands of troops into combat to clear and occupy large swaths of the enclave, an Israeli official and a second source familiar with the matter said.

The potential large-scale offensive is one of several possible scenarios the Israeli government is contemplating as it escalates its attacks on Gaza and seeks to pressure Hamas to release more hostages without negotiating an end to the war.

Efforts by Egypt and Qatar to revive the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have intensified in recent days and one source said leaks about a major ground offensive are part of an Israeli effort to apply more pressure on Hamas at the negotiating table. Israeli officials have previously indicated that Israel would stop its attacks if Hamas agrees to free more hostages.

Still, the Israeli military, led by its new and more aggressive chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has been crafting plans for a large-scale operation in Gaza for weeks now.

While the Israeli military has launched numerous ground offensives in Gaza over the course of the war, its forces often withdrew within days or weeks of routing Hamas fighters in the targeted area. Without an Israeli troop presence or an alternative governing or military force, Hamas would often re-emerge in those areas, prompting Israeli forces to return.

Under one potential scenario now being considered, Israeli forces would clear Hamas from large swaths of Gaza and then occupy that territory to prevent Hamas’s resurgence, the sources said. Such a decision could see the Israeli military occupying the territory and fighting insurgencies for years.

A large-scale offensive could involve five Israeli divisions — or some 50,000 troops — the sources said.

“But of course the problem is that once you escalate you can find yourself at the end of the road, in the depth of swamp. And this is the risk that no one knows if it will work or not.”

“Once you threaten something you should be prepared to do it,” he said.

The Israeli military has already begun laying the groundwork for larger-scale ground maneuvers, recapturing half of the Israeli-demarcated Netzarim corridor, which splits northern Gaza from the rest of the strip, and pushing troops into strategic locations in northern and southern Gaza.

Israel’s cabinet on Sunday set up an agency to facilitate any Palestinians in Gaza who wished to participate in a “voluntary transfer” to third countries – though none have agreed to take in emigrees.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made eliminating Hamas’s military and governance capabilities in Gaza a central war goal as he vows to achieve “absolute victory.”

But a larger-scale and longer-term Israeli military offensive in Gaza could also draw stiff resistance from the Israeli public, of which a majority has been clamoring for a deal to free the 59 hostages still held in Gaza over a return to war.

“What we will see is a permanent presence of the IDF fighting the counter-insurgency on the ground,” Hulata said. “And there will be no other option than for the IDF to assume responsibility for the humanitarian aid.”

Israel has since the beginning of March blocked all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, amplifying the humanitarian catastrophe in the strip.

Further occupation of Gaza “is, at least right now, not in the interest of Israel,” Ziv said. “For some of the extremists in the government like (Bezalel) Smotrich” – the far-right finance minister – “maybe it’s the purpose. But it’s definitely not the best of the Israeli policy at this time.”

Before Israel ended the ceasefire last week, a March 9 poll from the Israel Democracy Institute found that nearly three-quarters of Israelis supported reaching a deal to end the war with Hamas in exchange for the release of all the hostages.

And recently released hostages and the families of current hostages have warned that resuming the war in Gaza will only serve to endanger the lives of the 24 hostages estimated to still be alive.

Netanyahu’s political priorities may lie elsewhere, however. Key members of his right-wing governing coalition have been clamoring for a return to full-scale war over a negotiated settlement to free the hostages.

And Netanyahu’s aides believe US President Donald Trump will be more supportive of large-scale Israeli military action than former President Joe Biden, who suspended the transfer of certain weapons in order to forestall a major Israeli offensive into the heavily populated southern part of Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has hinted at the possibility of large-scale expansion of military ground operations, saying last week he had “instructed the IDF to seize additional territories, while evacuating the population.”

“The more Hamas continues its refusal, the more territory it will lose to Israel,” he said Friday in a statement.

More than a thousand people have been detained during protests following the jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Monday.

In a post on X, Yerlikaya said that “1,133 suspects were detained in illegal activities carried out between March 19 and March 23,” adding that “among those captured were individuals affiliated with 12 different terrorist organizations.”

Imamoglu, a political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained from his home on Wednesday. Authorities in Istanbul banned protests and closed some roads “in order to maintain public order” and “prevent any provocative actions that may occur.”

More than 120 police officers were also injured in the demonstrations, Yerlikaya said, adding that objects such as “acid, stones, sticks, fireworks, Molotov cocktails, axes and knives” were seized.

In what appeared to be a warning to the opposition, Yerlikaya said: “Let no one try to use our youth and our people as a shield for their own political ambitions.”

Demonstrations took place in recent days across various cities in Turkey, including in Istanbul and the capital Ankara, protesting Imamoglu’s jailing.

Imamoglu, Erdogan’s most serious rival, was detained just days before he was set to be named as a candidate for his Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the next presidential election, which is expected to take place in 2028. On Sunday, he was formally arrested pending trial on corruption charges.

Some 100 others connected to the mayor were also detained, including elected Istanbul district mayors Resul Emrah Sahan and Murat Calik.

Imamoglu has denied the charges against him and critics say the arrest represents a dangerous turning point for Turkey as Erdogan seeks to further extend his rule amid a growing crackdown on dissent.

In a message from Silivri Prison, where he is being held, Imamoglu said Monday that the presidential primary had seen record participation. He was widely expected to win the vote and become the CHP’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election

“Fifteen million of our citizens cast their votes. Tens of millions of people in this country, suffering under the oppression of the government, a shattered economy, lack of merit, and lawlessness, rushed to the ballot boxes,” Imamoglu said, adding that voters’ message to Erdogan was, “Enough is enough.”

Analysts say that Imamoglu was on a trajectory to one day lead the country. Some polls had said that if he ran for president against Erdogan, Imamoglu would secure more votes.

A team of lawyers representing the families of 30 Venezuelans sent by the United States to a mega prison in El Salvador asked the Salvadoran Supreme Court of Justice on Monday to evaluate the legality of their detention.

One of the attorneys, Jaime Ortega, said they were hired by the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to file an appeal before the Constitutional Chamber of the Salvadoran Supreme Court, which would also apply to the rest of the 238 Venezuelans deported on the orders of US President Donald Trump.

“We are asking the court to review their legal status and issue a ruling. If their detention is illegal, it should immediately order their release,” Ortega told reporters.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said last week that the US sent 238 alleged members of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, though he didn’t identify them or provide evidence for that claim. El Salvador agreed to take them in and lock them up at its Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), considered the largest prison in Latin America. US authorities have acknowledged that not all deportees had criminal records.

The Trump administration said 137 of those migrants were deported under the Alien Enemies Act. Use of the act, previously used only in wartime, under these circumstances is currently under judicial scrutiny in the US.

The lawyers in El Salvador said that if this is an immigration matter, they hope the Salvadoran Supreme Court will order that the Venezuelans be sent back to their countries.

The judges have no set deadline to resolve the appeal.

Juan Pappier, Americas Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch, cautioned that it was “unrealistic” to expect the court to go against the Bukele administration.

“I understand (the families’) desperation and I think they should use whatever avenue they can find available,” Pappier said.

Pappier argued that these types of deportations violate UN principles that forbid countries from transferring individuals to a place “where they can risk facing torture and other grave human rights violations.”

The National Commission on Human Rights and Freedom of Expression, a Salvadoran government agency, said families of Venezuelan deportees held in Cecot could petition the Salvadoran government for their release.

“We will process each case and carry out the corresponding verifications,” presidential commissioner Andrés Guzmán said.