Israel’s defence minister has said countries like Ireland, Spain and Norway are “legally obligated” to take in Palestinians.
It comes as Defence Minister Israel Katz said he has instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with US president Donald Trump’s proposal for the war-ravaged territory.Mr Katz said on Thursday that the plan “will include options for exit at land crossings as well as special arrangements for exit by sea and air”.
He said he welcomed Mr Trump’s “bold plan, which could allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world”.
Mr Katz did not say whether Palestinians would be able to one day return to Gaza, which has been rendered largely uninhabitable by Israel’s 15-month military campaign against Hamas.
When asked who will take in the Palestinians, Mr Katz said it should be countries who have opposed Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
“Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have levelled accusations and false claims against Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories,” he said.
“Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse to do so. There are countries like Canada, which has a structured immigration program, that have previously expressed a willingness to accept Gaza residents.”
Well, the Palestinians will feel right at home in Ireland: As William Jacobson of the Legal Insurrection blog warned in December, “Ireland maybe be about to Bud Light itself:” Ireland has brought a diplomatic disaster on itself.