'Concentration camp': Israel's planned new city in Rafah

Defence affairs analysis

Israel Katz is calling it a “humanitarian city”, from which Palestinians will be encouraged to “voluntarily emigrate” out of Gaza.

But analysts believe the Israeli defence minister, who unveiled plans this week to confine over two million Palestinians into a small area in southern Gaza, is using distorted language.

Experts in genocide and international law say the “humanitarian city” is more akin to a concentration camp. And any talk of “voluntary emigration”, they told Middle East Eye, should actually be read as forcible displacement. 

The proposals are not fringe discussions. They were revealed by Katz, and appear to have the backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Here, we break down what we know about the plan, how it relates to months-long US and Israeli rhetoric of ejecting Palestinians from Gaza, and what the international legal implications are.