JERUSALEM 

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Monday that he is collaborating with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on an action plan to implement US President Donald Trump's plan for resettling Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.

“Encouraging migration is the only solution that will achieve peace, security, and alleviate the suffering of Gaza's residents in the long term,” Smotrich said during a meeting of the parliamentary bloc of his Religious Zionism Party.

“I am working with the Prime Minister and the security cabinet to prepare an action plan and ensure President Trump's vision is realized on the ground,” he said, calling for disregarding what he described as “weak opposition from Egypt and Jordan” to the plan.

On Saturday, Trump called to “just clean out” Gaza and resettle Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt, describing the enclave as a “demolition site” after Israel’s genocidal war.

Jordan, Egypt, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation issued statements vehemently rejecting any call for the displacement or relocation of Palestinians from their land.

“There is an American president with a wise, solid, and realistic perspective who understands that Gaza represents a source of suffering,” Smotrich said.

In a similar vein, former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir claimed that “encouraging migration is the only thing that will bring a solution, relief, and calm to the State of Israel and Gaza's residents.”

Speaking during a meeting of his Jewish Power Party faction in the Knesset (parliament),” Ben-Gvir urged the Arab world to encourage Gazan citizens to migrate to their countries, according to Channel 12 Israel.

The Palestinian Presidency, in a statement on Monday, also rejected Trump's call, stressing that the alternative is “achieving peace based on international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.”

The Saudi-drafted Arab Peace Initiative calls for normalized relations between Arab states and Israel in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from Arab territories occupied since the 1967 war, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a just solution to the refugee issue.

Trump’s proposal came a week after a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.

Seven Israeli captives, including four soldiers, have so far been released in return for 290 Palestinian prisoners since the deal came into force.

The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.