<![CDATA[ Israel prepara transferência em massa de civis palestinianos ]]>

Israel's Defense Minister has instructed the army to prepare for the mass transfer of the Palestinian civilian population to a refugee camp in the south of the territory, in a plan denounced by activists and human rights defenders as a "crime against humanity."

According to Minister Israel Katz, the military has been ordered to build what he called a "humanitarian city" on the ruins of Rafah, near the border with Egypt. This gigantic refugee camp, whose construction could begin as soon as the 60-day ceasefire currently being negotiated takes effect, will initially accommodate 600,000 Palestinian civilians, but the ultimate goal is to accommodate the entire population of the enclave—approximately 2.1 million people. All residents will undergo "security checks" to ensure they have no links to Hamas or other terrorist groups, and will not be allowed to leave the camp, which will effectively be a prison guarded by Israeli military forces.

"This is an operational plan for a crime against humanity," denounced Israeli activist and human rights defender Michael Sfard, stating that the Israeli government's real goal is to concentrate the Palestinian population "in preparation for their deportation out of Gaza." The forced transfer of civilians is prohibited by international humanitarian law and equated by the UN with "ethnic cleansing," he noted. Holocaust historian Amos Goldberg, meanwhile, says the goal is to create "a concentration or transit camp for the Palestinians before expelling them." "This is not a city, much less a humanitarian one," he denounced.

Asked to comment on the plan during his visit to the White House on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured that no one will be forced to leave Gaza against their will. "Those who want to stay can stay, but those who want to leave must be able to do so," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel is working with the US to "find countries willing to embrace what they have always stood for—that they are willing to give the Palestinians a better future."