Olmert: ‘Humanitarian City' in Rafah Would Be Concentration Camp for Palestinians
Israel was already committing war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, Olmert told the daily, and construction of the camp would mark an escalation.
Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, has ordered the military to start drawing up operational plans for construction of the 'humanitarian city' on the ruins of southern Gaza, to house initially 600,000 people and eventually the entire Palestinian population, stated the Guardian.
'It is a concentration camp. I am sorry,' Olmert told he daily, when asked about the plans laid out by Katz last week. Once inside, Palestinians would not be allowed to leave, except to go to other countries, Katz said.
The 'humanitarian city' project is backed by Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel's refusal to withdraw from the area Katz envisages for the camp is a sticking point in the faltering negotiations for a ceasefire deal, Israeli media have reported.
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