September 7, 2026

This is how I had concluded a post more than a year ago:

“Against the latest flurry of diplomacy, Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing government remains determined that all Palestinians be expelled from Gaza, a project endorsed by President Trump. Both know that after 661 days of bloodshed, the war in Gaza has swept away any hope whatsoever of peaceful co-existence between the two peoples. The only question is “where would they go?” Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump must have some ideas. After all, in today’s world, there is little that money can’t buy. However, that would not be all.

“Today, more than half a million Israeli settlers live in the “occupied West Bank”. Their numbers and settlements are growing, shrinking the territory hitherto seen as the core of a Palestinian state. As the growing expressions of concern over settler violence show, the remaining question is when the West Bank Palestinians would also be told to leave the area ‘voluntarily’.”[i] 

Last Wednesday, Israel’s Defense Minister  Katz said that plans to facilitate the mass emigration of Palestinians from Gaza remain under discussion and were merely “frozen” by US President Donald Trump, not taken off the table entirely. He also said that should other countries be open to taking in Gazans, Katz said the Israeli government “is organized and prepared to get them out — by sea, by air, by every way possible.”[ii]

The next day, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir unveiled a plan he said he hoped to advance if the coalition maintains control of power in the coming October 27 election. It is aimed at removing the vast majority of Gaza’s Palestinian population from the territory through what he termed “voluntary emigration,” including by establishing a dedicated government ministry.

Ben Gvir dubbed the scheme “Disengagement 710” — a reference to both Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza and the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, for which many on the Israeli right have partly blamed the withdrawal. It seeks the removal of 250,000 Gazans in its first year, 1.11 million within three years and 1.86 million within seven. Gaza’s population is estimated at some 2.3 million.[iii]

The only conclusion one can draw from the remarks of the two ministers is that the plan to send Gazans and the Palestinians of the West Bank to other countries is well advanced; despite some earlier U-turns, it has been approved by Trump, and the search for destinations is under way. The ministers’ remarks may also have a domestic political dimension, coming only six weeks before the October 27, 2026, Israeli elections, but they are not just an election ploy. Moreover, after almost three years of death and devastation since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, at least some Gazans may be willing to start a new life elsewhere.

Some European countries continue to express opposition to Israel’s approach to the future of Gaza and the West Bank, and they reiterate their commitment to the “two-state solution”, but everyone knows that this is nothing but diplomatic theatre. Even if they were sincere, they carry no weight in today’s “post-rules-based international order”.

Foreign Ministers of Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia and Pakistan have strongly condemned the statement by the two Israeli ministers and have called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to shoulder its responsibilities.[iv]

Thus, as Israel pushes for  its relocation plans, the question is  “Where would the Gazans go?” Given the history of the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict, the logical answer is “Arab countries.” After all, Palestinians are Arabs. For decades, until the Abraham Accords, Arab countries had been vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause and the two-state solution. Gulf countries are wealthy. They are capable not only of settling Gazans and West Bankers in their countries but also of financially supporting other less well-to-do Arab countries in providing homes for their Palestinian brethren. Moreover, the number of Palestinians who are ready to “voluntarily emigrate” is no more than a few million, whereas more than half of the 62 million people in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are foreign workers.[v]

Since Türkiye’s AKP government has been one of the most ardent supporters of the Palestinian cause and Hamas, alongside Iran, some may also see Türkiye as the new homeland of Gazans and the West Bank Palestinians. Some in Israel may see this as a price Ankara should be made to pay for its support of the Palestinian cause, and others elsewhere may prefer to market it as Türkiye’s humanitarian contribution to Middle East peace.

President Trump unveiled his “20-point Gaza peace plan” at the White House on September 9, 2025, alongside Netanyahu. His answers to questions about an Israel-Türkiye confrontation were most worthy of attention. After mentioning that President Erdoğan has done a fantastic job, that he is with him and with Bibi all the way, and nothing (worrying) is going to happen, he said:

“And don’t forget, it was President Erdogan helped very much get rid of a very bad ruler of Syria. That was President Erdogan. And he never wanted the credit for it, but he really gets a lot of credit. Bibi agrees with that. I agree with I mean, I know it. And President Erdogan should get a lot of good credit for what he did. He got rid of some very bad people. And, you know, they’ve been wanting to do that for a thousand years with different names, but for a thousand years in Syria, President Erdogan did it. And we give him a lot of credit. I give him a lot of credit. But I think it’s going to work out well between Syria and Israel…”[vi]

Indeed, firstly, Ankara did a great favor to Israel in the ouster of President Assad. Secondly, Türkiye hosts one of the biggest refugee populations in the world, including more than 2.3 million Syrian refugees, the price of our U-turn in our Syria policy, and more than  300, 000 refugees and asylum seekers of other nationalities. Thirdly, more migrants from the region will add to Türkiye’s multiple domestic and external security challenges. And lastly, opening our doors to Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank will reduce the government’s years of support for the “two-state solution” to empty rhetoric. This is why Ankara should be ready to categorically reject any suggestion to open our doors to immigrants from Gaza and the West Bank.

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[i] https://diplomaticopinion.com/2025/07/28/the-two-state-solution-remains-an-illusion/

[ii] https://www.timesofisrael.com/katz-israel-will-facilitate-emigration-from-gaza-by-any-means-as-soon-as-trump-allows/

[iii] https://www.timesofisrael.com/ben-gvir-unveils-voluntary-emigration-plan-to-remove-most-palestinians-from-gaza/

[iv] https://www.mfa.gov.tr/joint-statement-by-the-foreign-ministers-of-turkiye-egypt-indonesia-jordan-pakistan-qatar-saudi-arabia-and-uae-6-september-2026.en.mfa

[v] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/9/where-do-the-35-million-foreigners-living-in-the-gcc-come-from

[vi] https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-press-conference-joint-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-december-29-2025/