Chile rejects claims by Israeli ministers of sending Palestinians from Gaza to other countries

(CNN in Spanish) — The Chilean government on Thursday “categorically” rejected statements by Israeli ministers proposing to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza and send them to other countries.

The Chilean Foreign Ministry's statement was published after Israel's National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, and Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, proposed “a humanitarian solution that encourages voluntary migration,” warning that this would allow “the protection of” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

“Any action involving the forced displacement of people is contrary to international law, international humanitarian law and human rights,” the Foreign Ministry said in the letter.

Justifications for the mass displacement proposal

The Israeli Finance Minister posted on

He also called on “friends of the international community” to think about what “brings peace, security and prosperity to all the peoples of the region and allows the residents of the south to return to their homes.”

In addition to the government, the Palestinian community in Chile expressed its rejection.

The Palestinian community in Chile, the largest outside the Middle East, announced on Wednesday that it had filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court on charges of “international crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.”

Reaction in the United States

The United States also rejected the “inflammatory and irresponsible” statements of Israeli ministers, and urged that the proposed mass displacement be avoided.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller explained: “We have been clear, consistent and unequivocal that Gaza is and will remain Palestinian territory, without Hamas actually controlling its future and without the presence of terrorist groups capable of threatening Israel.” In a statement this Tuesday.

Israeli Security Minister Ben Gvir posted on Loop.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not express his position either in the face of his ministers’ proposal or in the face of criticism from the United States.