Gaza expulsion not planned, Israel's Saar says

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Wednesday that Israel was “not planning to expel or to deport anyone from Gaza Strip”.

Speaking in Ljubljana before the opening of an Israeli embassy in Slovenia, Saar said Israel would not oppose someone leaving Gaza voluntarily if another country was ready to accept them.

“If someone wants to leave Gaza from his own will, and there is a country which is ready to accept him, as it happens from any conflict area in the world, we will not oppose that,” he said.

Several Israeli cabinet members have spoken of plans to remove all two million people from war-ravaged Gaza, though they have largely described the idea as voluntary and said Palestinians want to leave but are prevented by Hamas.

Saar thanked Slovenia for its “friendship” and for “standing with Israel when it matters”. He said the embassy was “an investment in a relationship and a commitment to its future”.

The embassy opening in Ljubljana marks a major departure from the previous centre-left Slovenian government, which had been one of the European Union's most critical voices on Israel's military offensive in Gaza.