US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has said Israel has no plans to forcibly displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, amid renewed calls from far-right Israeli politicians for the territory’s population to leave.
“I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will,” Huckabee told reporters during a visit to Palestinian-American families in the occupied West Bank.
His comments came days after Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir outlined a plan calling for 250,000 Palestinians to leave Gaza in the first year, followed by the departure of the territory’s remaining population over the next six years.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had also said Israel was prepared to remove Palestinians from Gaza by land and sea, claiming that Israel was awaiting US discussions on where the population could be relocated. Katz, without providing evidence, said 80 per cent of Gaza’s residents wanted to leave but were being prevented from doing so by Hamas.
Huckabee said the administration of US President Donald Trump supported Palestinians having the option to leave Gaza voluntarily.
“There is an open-mindedness if people wish to leave, that they should have the right to leave,” he said, while describing keeping Palestinians inside Gaza as unacceptable.
“Nobody is suggesting there would be forced displacement — the Israelis are not, the Americans are not,” Huckabee said.
The forced displacement of civilians from occupied territory is prohibited under international humanitarian law and can constitute a war crime.
Almost Gaza’s entire population has been displaced internally during Israel’s military offensive, which began following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Several far-right Israeli politicians have previously called for Palestinians to leave Gaza and for Israeli settlers to return to the territory. Israel withdrew its settlements from Gaza in 2005.
The issue has gained renewed attention ahead of Israel’s October 27 elections, with far-right figures playing an increasingly prominent role in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Trump had sparked international criticism earlier in his second term by proposing that Palestinians be temporarily relocated from Gaza and that the devastated territory be redeveloped as a luxury resort. He later backed away from the proposal following strong opposition, including from Egypt.
During his West Bank visit, Huckabee also said the Israeli government had a responsibility to protect Palestinian residents from settler violence and called for serious consequences against those responsible.
The ambassador visited Palestinian-American families in Turmus Ayya, a West Bank town where a large proportion of residents hold US citizenship. The visit followed a recent increase in attacks by Israeli settlers.
Huckabee said residents had the right to live in safety and that the Israeli government was responsible for ensuring their security.
“Our clear message is that crime is crime, terror is terror,” he said, adding that those responsible should face “severe consequences”.
Huckabee stopped short of directly criticising the Israeli government but said action against violent settlers would be in Israel’s own interests, particularly as the country faces growing international criticism over its military campaign in Gaza.
He described violent settlers as a small minority and said their actions should not be viewed as representative of Israel’s wider population.
Residents told Huckabee that repeated settler attacks had made it difficult for them to access their homes and agricultural land.
Samir Hazmeh said settlers had smashed windows at his home, attempted to force their way through the gates and tried to set the property on fire. He said he had installed barbed wire and displayed an American flag in an effort to deter further attacks.
Yasser Alqam, another Palestinian-American resident, said he had been unable to return to land he owns because of repeated settler attacks.
He urged Washington to pressure Israel to arrest settlers known to authorities and criticised Trump’s decision to lift sanctions imposed by the previous US administration on extremist settlers.
Alqam’s wife, Jinan, said she hoped Huckabee could help provide protection that would allow Palestinian-Americans to safely return to their land and harvest olives.
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and evangelical Christian pastor, has long been a prominent supporter of Israel and Israeli settlements.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live there alongside around three million Palestinians. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law.
Huckabee has frequently referred to the West Bank by its biblical name, “Judea and Samaria”, a term used by the Israeli government but not officially adopted by Washington.
Earlier this year, his remarks appearing to support possible Israeli territorial expansion in the Middle East drew condemnation from several countries, including Pakistan.
