Latest news with #HumanitarianTransitAreas'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
GHF slams Reuters over 'false, so-called' document of Gazan relocation, 'deradicalization plan'
GHF stated that it had informed the news agency that it had never seen, created, or been involved in this presentation prior to its publication. Editor's note: A previous version of this article featured the unconfirmed report. This has since been edited to show the Gaza Humanitarian Fund's response. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) slammed Reuters for its report that claimed it proposed building camps called 'Humanitarian Transit Areas' inside - and possibly outside - Gaza to house the Palestinian population, outlining its vision of "replacing Hamas's control over the population in Gaza." GHF stated that it had informed the news agency that it had never seen, created, or been involved in this presentation prior to its publication. "As we made clear to them [Reuters] repeatedly, GHF is not planning for or implementing Humanitarian Transit Areas (HTAs) now or at any point in the future," GHF said in a statement toThe Jerusalem Post. "It is disturbing that they falsely reported this disinformation despite repeated denials. Our sole focus remains on scaling up food aid operations to meet the urgent and overwhelming needs of the population in Gaza," the statement added. ThePost has reached out to GHF Director Reverand Johnnie Moore for comment. Following GHF's dispute with its report, Reuters heavily edited it, adding a statement that "it could not be determined who created or submitted the document." Reuters had reported that the $2 billion plan, created sometime after February 11 for GHF, was submitted to the Trump administration and recently discussed in the White House, according to a source familiar with the matter. The plan, according to Reuters, describes the camps as "large-scale" and "voluntary" places where the Gazan population could 'temporarily reside, deradicalize, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so.' The Washington Post made a reference to GHF's plans to build housing compounds for Palestinian non-combatants in May. A slide deck, according to Reuters, goes into granular detail on the "Humanitarian Transit Zones," including how they would be implemented and what they would cost. It calls for using the sprawling facilities to "gain trust with the local population" and to facilitate US President Donald Trump's "vision for Gaza." Reuters could not independently determine the status of the plan, who submitted it, or whether it is still under consideration. The aid group, responding to questions from Reuters, denied that it had submitted a proposal and said the slides "are not a GHF document." GHF said it had studied "a range of theoretical options to safely deliver aid in Gaza," but that it "is not planning for or implementing Humanitarian Transit Areas (HTAs)." Rather, the organization said it is solely focused on food distribution in Gaza. A spokesperson for SRS, a for-profit contracting company that works with GHF, told Reuters, "We have had no discussions with GHF about HTAs, and our 'next phase' is feeding more people. Any suggestion otherwise is entirely false and misrepresents the scope of our operations." The document included the GHF name on the cover and SRS on several slides. On February 4, Trump first publicly said that the US should "take over" the war-battered enclave and rebuild it as "the Riviera of the Middle East" after resettling the population of 2.3 million Palestinians elsewhere. Trump's comments angered many Palestinians and humanitarian groups about the possible forced relocation from Gaza. Even if the GHF proposal is no longer under consideration, the idea of moving a large portion of the population into camps will only deepen such worries, several humanitarian experts told Reuters. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The proposal was laid out in a slide presentation that a source said was submitted to the US embassy in Jerusalem earlier this year. The US State Department declined to comment. A senior administration official said, "Nothing of the like is under consideration. Also, no resources are being directed to that end in any way." The source working on the project said that it had not moved forward due to a lack of funds. Reuters previously reported that GHF had attempted to set up a Swiss bank account from which to solicit donations, but UBS and Goldman Sachs declined to work with the organization. The Israeli Embassy in the US did not respond to a request for comment. Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters it "categorically" rejects the GHF, calling it "not a relief organization but rather an intelligence and security tool affiliated with the Israeli occupation, operating under a false humanitarian guise." The undated slide presentation, which includes photos dated February 11, said that the GHF is "working to secure" over $2 billion for the project, to "build, secure and oversee large-scale Humanitarian Transit Areas (HTAs) inside and potentially outside Gaza strip for the population to reside while Gaza is demilitarized and rebuilt." The Humanitarian Transit Areas described in the slides would be the next phase in an operation that began with GHF opening food distribution sites in the enclave in late May, according to two sources involved in the project. GHF coordinates with the Israeli military and uses private US security and logistics companies to get food aid into Gaza. It is favored by the Trump Administration and Israel to carry out humanitarian efforts in Gaza as opposed to the UN-led system, which it says lets terrorists divert aid. Hamas denies this and says Israel is using hunger as a weapon. In June US State Department approved $30 million in funding for the GHF and called on other countries to also support the group. The United Nations has called GHF's operation "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. The UN human rights office says it has recorded at least 613 killings at GHF aid points and near humanitarian convoys run by other relief groups, including the UN. One slide outlining a timeline said a camp would be operational within 90 days of the launch of the project and that it would house 2,160 people, along with a laundry, restrooms, showers, and a school. A source working on the project said that the slide deck is part of a planning process that began last year and envisions a total of eight camps, each one capable of sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. The proposal did not specify how the Palestinians would be relocated into the camps, or where the camps could be built outside Gaza, but a map shows arrows pointing to Egypt and Cyprus as well as other points labeled "Additional Destination?" GHF would 'oversee and regulate all civil activities required for construction, deradicalization and temporary voluntary relocation,' the proposal said. Responding to questions from Reuters, three humanitarian experts expressed alarm over details of the plan to build camps. 'There is no such thing as voluntary displacement amongst a population that has been under constant bombardment for nearly two years and has been cut off from essential aid,' said Jeremy Konyndyk, president of the Refugees International advocacy group and a former senior US Agency for International Development official who reviewed the plan. The source who worked on planning for the camps told Reuters that the intent "is to take the fear factor away," enabling Palestinians to "escape control of Hamas" and providing them "a safe area to house their families."
Kuwait Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
US-backed aid group proposed ‘Humanitarian Transit Areas' in Gaza
GAZA STRIP: A controversial US-backed aid group proposed building camps called 'Humanitarian Transit Areas' inside - and possibly outside - Gaza to house the Palestinian population, according to a proposal reviewed by Reuters, outlining its vision of 'replacing Hamas' control over the population in Gaza.' The $2 billion plan, created sometime after February 11 for the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, was submitted to the Trump administration and recently discussed in the White House, according to a source familiar with the matter. The plan, reviewed by Reuters, describes the camps as 'large-scale' and 'voluntary' places where the Gazan population could 'temporarily reside, deradicalize, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so.' The Washington Post made a reference to GHF plans to build housing compounds for Palestinian non-combatants in May. A slide deck seen by Reuters goes into granular detail on the 'Humanitarian Transit Zones,' including how they would be implemented and what they would cost. It calls for using the sprawling facilities to 'gain trust with the local population' and to facilitate US President Donald Trump's 'vision for Gaza.' Reuters could not independently determine the status of the plan, who submitted it, or whether it is still under consideration. The aid group, responding to questions from Reuters, denied that it had submitted a proposal and said the slides 'are not a GHF document.' GHF said it had studied 'a range of theoretical options to safely deliver aid in Gaza,' but that it 'is not planning for or implementing Humanitarian Transit Areas (HTAs).' Rather, the organization said it is solely focused on food distribution in Gaza. A spokesperson for SRS, a for-profit contracting company that works with GHF, told Reuters 'we have had no discussions with GHF about HTAs, and our 'next phase' is feeding more people. Any suggestion otherwise is entirely false and misrepresents the scope of our operations.' The document included the GHF name on the cover and SRS on several slides. On February 4, Trump first publicly said that the US should 'take over' the war-battered enclave and rebuild it as 'the Riviera of the Middle East' after resettling the population of 2.3 million Palestinians elsewhere. Trump's comments angered many Palestinians and humanitarian groups about the possible forced relocation from Gaza. Even if the GHF proposal is no longer under consideration, the idea of moving a large portion of the population into camps will only deepen such worries, several humanitarian experts told Reuters. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The proposal was laid out in a slide presentation that a source said was submitted to the US embassy in Jerusalem earlier this year. The US State Department declined to comment. A senior administration official said, 'nothing of the like is under consideration. Also, no resources are being directed to that end in any way.' The source working on the project said that it had not moved forward due to a lack of funds. Reuters previously reported that GHF had attempted to set up a Swiss bank account from which to solicit donations, but UBS and Goldman Sachs declined to work with the organization. The Zionist Embassy in the US did not respond to a request for comment. Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, to told Reuters it 'categorically' rejects the GHF, calling it 'not a relief organization but rather an intelligence and security tool affiliated with the Zionist occupation, operating under a false humanitarian guise.' The undated slide presentation, which includes photos dated February 11, said that the GHF is 'working to secure' over $2 billion for the project, to 'build, secure and oversee large-scale Humanitarian Transit Areas (HTAs) inside and potentially outside Gaza strip for the population to reside while Gaza is demilitarized and rebuilt.' The Humanitarian Transit Areas described in the slides would be the next phase in an operation that began with GHF opening food distribution sites in the enclave in late May, according to two sources involved in the project. – Reuters
Observer
4 days ago
- Politics
- Observer
Israel stalls truce talks on aid entry
CAIRO: Israel's refusal to allow the free and safe entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza remains the main obstacle to progress in the ceasefire talks being held in Qatar, Palestinian sources said on Monday. The two sources said mediators hosted one indirect round of ceasefire talks between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israeli officials earlier on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. Trump said on Sunday there was a good chance such a deal could be reached this week. Meanwhile, a proposal seen by Reuters and bearing the name of a controversial US-backed aid group described a plan to build large-scale camps called "Humanitarian Transit Areas' inside - and possibly outside - Gaza to house the Palestinian population, outlining a vision of "replacing Hamas' control over the population in Gaza." The $2 billion plan, created sometime after February 11 and carrying the name of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, was submitted to the Trump administration, according to two sources, one of whom said it was recently discussed in the White House. The plan, reviewed by Reuters, describes the camps as "large-scale" and "voluntary" places where the Gazan population could "temporarily reside, deradicalise, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so.' The Washington Post made a reference to GHF's plans to build housing compounds for Palestinian non-combatants in May. A slide deck seen by Reuters goes into granular detail on the "Humanitarian Transit Zones," including how they would be implemented and what they would cost. It calls for using the sprawling facilities to "gain trust with the local population" and to facilitate US President Donald Trump's "vision for Gaza." Reuters could not independently determine the status of the plan, who created and submitted it, or whether it is still under consideration. The aid group, responding to questions from Reuters, denied that it had submitted a proposal and said the slides "are not a GHF document." GHF said it had studied "a range of theoretical options to safely deliver aid in Gaza," but that it "is not planning for or implementing Humanitarian Transit Areas (HTAs)." Rather, the organisation said it is solely focused on food distribution in Gaza. On February 4, Trump first publicly said that the US should "take over" the war-battered enclave and rebuild it as "the Riviera of the Middle East" after resettling the population of 2.3 million Palestinians elsewhere. SEE ALSO P6
Middle East Eye
5 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
GHF 'proposed camps for Palestinians to reside, de-radicalise and re-integrate'
The US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation proposed building camps called 'Humanitarian Transit Areas' inside - and possibly outside - Gaza to house the Palestinian population, according to a proposal reviewed by Reuters. The $2bn plan, created after 11 February for the GHF, was submitted to Donald Trump's administration and recently discussed in the White House, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The plan describes "large scale" sites where the Palestinian population in Gaza could "temporarily reside, deradicalize, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so". A slide deck seen by Reuters goes into detail about these Humanitarian Transit Areas, and how they would be used to "gain trust with the local population" and facilitate Trump's "vision for Gaza". In February, Trump said that the US should "take over" Gaza and rebuild it as the "Riviera of the Middle East", after ethnically cleansing the population outside of the territory. The undated slide presentation, which includes photos dated 11 February, said that the GHF was "working to secure" over $2bn for the project, to "build, secure and oversee large-scale Humanitarian Transit Areas (HTAs) inside and potentially outside Gaza Strip for the population to reside while Gaza is demilitarized and rebuilt". The GHF told Reuters that the slides were not a GHF document, adding that it had studied "a range of theoretical options to safely deliver aid in Gaza," but that it "is not planning for or implementing Humanitarian Transit Areas". A senior US administration official told Reuters "nothing of the like is under consideration", noting that "no resources are being directed to that end in any way".
Middle East Eye
5 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
GHF proposed camps for Palestinians to 'reside, de-radicalise and re-integrate'
The controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has proposed creating camps called 'Humanitarian Transit Areas' in the Gaza Strip to house Palestinians and "deradicalise" them, Reuters reported on Monday. The proposal is part of an overall strategy to end the control of Hamas over the Palestinian enclave. Reuters reported that the $2bn plan was submitted to the Trump administration and recently discussed in the White House. The camps are described as "large-scale" and "voluntary" in the plan, and places that Palestinians can 'temporarily reside, deradicalize, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so'. A slide deck seen by Reuters called for using the sprawling facilities to "gain trust with the local population" and to facilitate US President Donald Trump's "vision for Gaza". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Reuters could not independently determine the status of the plan, while the group told the news agency the slides were "not a GHF document". GHF said it had studied "a range of theoretical options to safely deliver aid in Gaza", but that it was "not planning for or implementing Humanitarian Transit Areas". There have been repeated references by both the Israeli and US governments to transferring the population of Gaza from the territory, a move that would amount to ethnic cleansing. Israel stopped any aid from entering Gaza for three months after unilaterally ending a ceasefire with Hamas in March. The GHF was set up with US and Israeli backing. with the aim of supplanting United Nations-led aid coordination mechanisms in Gaza. Its rollout of services since May has been chaotic. Israeli forces have killed more than 600 Palestinians and wounded another 4,000 by firing on people desperately seeking access to aid at the GHF's few distribution sites. It was revealed over the weekend that a consulting firm involved in the GHF entered into a multimillion-dollar contract to develop the initiative and modelled a plan to "relocate" Palestinians from Gaza as part of its work. A Financial Times investigation has revealed its work included financial modelling for the post-war reconstruction of Gaza, commissioned by Israeli backers, with one scenario envisioning the "voluntary relocation" of Palestinians from the enclave. This would have involved paying out "relocation packages" to 500,000 people worth $9,000 per person to encourage people to leave the territory. Gaza Humanitarian Foundation may be 'complicit in war crimes', right groups say Read More » The model assumed a quarter of Palestinians would opt to leave Gaza, with three-quarters of them unlikely to return. It estimated the cost of expulsion of Palestinians to be $23,000 cheaper, per Palestinian, than the costs of providing support to them in Gaza during reconstruction. According to the Boston Consulting Group, this side of the operation was conducted without the knowledge of senior management and against their instructions.
