This week, comments by an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) officer sparked fears that Palestinians in Gaza’s north who have been forcibly displaced would not be able to return home.
During a media briefing, IDF brigadier general Itzik Cohen told Israeli reporters there was “no intention” of allowing displaced Palestinians to return home.
The IDF later backtracked on his comments, saying they had been taken out of context.
However, it’s prompted concerns about the forced displacement of Palestinians in northern Gaza — and what happens if they’re prevented from returning home.
What did Israel’s military say about northern Gaza?
During a media briefing on Wednesday, Cohen told Israeli reporters: “There is no intention of allowing the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes.”
He said humanitarian aid “will regularly enter the south” since there were “no more civilians left” in the north.
It’s unclear how many civilians remain in northern Gaza, but the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service estimated 100,000 people remain in the cities of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun.
The comments appeared to be the first official acknowledgement from Israel of the systematic removal of Palestinians from the area.
Palestinian Civil Emergency Service estimates that 100,000 people remain in the cities of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun. Source: AAP / Middle East Images/ABACA
But on Friday, an IDF spokesperson said the comments had been taken out of context, the briefing was on background, and the brigadier general should not have been quoted in Hebrew media reports that emerged.
“The statement attributed to the IDF in the past 24 hours, claiming that residents of northern Gaza will not be allowed to return to their homes, is incorrect and does not reflect the IDF’s objectives and values,” the spokesperson said.
What’s happening in northern Gaza?
On 5 October, Israel began to carry out a new operation in northern Gaza, calling for the evacuation of Palestinians residing in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, Jabalia refugee camp, and Jabalia town.
The Israeli military said Hamas militants had regrouped in the area, with the assault’s intention to clear them of the cities and “dismantle Hamas’ capabilities”.
But there are concerns the new assault might be the first stage of what’s been dubbed the ‘Generals’ Plan’, published in September, which suggested Palestinian civilians would be instructed to evacuate northern Gaza, which would then be declared a closed military zone. The hypothetical plan would force anyone left in the north to evacuate, surrender or starve.
Palestinian officials say Israel is carrying out a plan of “ethnic cleansing”, with residents saying no aid has entered Jabalia, Beit Lahiya or Beit Hanoun since the operation began.
Thousands of Palestinians trying to return to their homes in northern Gaza after they came under Israeli fire in April. Evacuation orders have been broadcast across cities in north Gaza. Source: AAP / Yasser Qudihe
There are also concerns about patchy communications, diminishing food supplies, and exorbitant prices on what resources are available.
However, the Israeli military has denied carrying out the plan, adding that food and other humanitarian aid are available in various warehouses scattered throughout the northern region.
Additionally, they have said that any evacuation orders are meant to keep civilians out of harm’s way.
Israeli officials expect the campaign to last “an additional few weeks at least”.
This week, , with the entire population at imminent risk of death.
“The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence,” they said in a statement signed by the heads of UN agencies, including the UN children’s agency UNICEF and the World Food Programme, and other aid groups.
Why there are fears Palestinians won’t be able to return home
While Israel has renounced the brigadier general’s statement, fears remain it won’t allow citizens of northern Gaza to return home and will seek to reestablish settlements inside Gaza, or even expand Israeli borders.
Just this week, Israeli tanks have advanced in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya, with evacuation orders broadcasted by drones, leaflet drops social media outlets, and text messages sent to residents’ phones.
“After they displaced most or all of the people in Jabalia, now they are bombing everywhere, killing people on the roads and inside their houses to force everyone out,” one displaced man told news wire Reuters.
Another Palestinian man, Mohammad Atteya, has been separated from his family in northern Gaza. He believes Israel is planning to resettle in northern Gaza.
“They are making buffer zones, that’s why they are demolishing and bombing residential districts, and some of their fanatics want to return settlers in Gaza. This is how bad the situation is,” Atteya told Reuters.
It’s a move that has many people concerned, including William Schabas, professor of international law at the UK’s Middlesex University, who says the
While a UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur found there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Israel has denied this claim.
Schabas told ABC News: “It [forced displacement] creates the strong suspicion that there is another agenda at work and that this is not being done for a military purpose but rather with the idea of clearing all of northern Gaza.”
“This may only be the beginning of a larger effort to clear all of northern Gaza of Palestinians, never to return.”
Schabas says many are concerned the annexing and resettlement of Gaza and the expansion of Israeli borders are Israel’s ultimate goal.
At a conference on 22 October, attended by several ministers in the Netanyahu government, senior officials asserted that “encouraging emigration” of Palestinian residents of Gaza would be the “most ethical” solution to the conflict, as reported by Reuters. Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich told journalists that the Gaza Strip was “part of the Land of Israel” and that “without settlements, there is no security”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously denied concerns about resettlement, saying in January that Israel had “no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population”.
