At a press conference with the U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump shocked the world by presenting his horrifying, immoral plan to uproot all Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip—about two million people—and resettle them. Subsequently, it was reported that the Israel Defense Minister ordered the military to prepare a plan that would allow for the "voluntary departure" of Gaza residents. Since Trump's declaration, public discourse has been saturated with talk of transfer and ethnic cleansing as if these were legitimate political solutions.
In an appeal to the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister, Attorney Gadeer Nicola, ACRI's Deputy Director and Legal Department Director, and Attorney Oded Feller, ACRI's Legal Advisor, emphasized the fact that population transfers and ethnic cleansing are war crimes.
"It is forbidden to expel the residents of the Gaza Strip, and it is forbidden to force them to leave in any way. Transfer is forbidden, and ethnic cleansing is forbidden. It is prohibited, and whoever does this violates international law and is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
See the attachment for the full letter.