Israeli opposition leaders slam Netanyahu government over Gaza's ‘humanitarian city' plan

Israeli opposition leaders on Sunday sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for allocating 15 billion shekels ($4 billion) to build what Tel Aviv calls a “humanitarian city” for Gaza's population in Rafah.

Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that he has instructed his army to prepare a plan to relocate all Palestinians to what he called a “humanitarian city” on the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza.

Katz said the entire population will be held in the new zone, and from there, they will be allowed to emigrate from Gaza to other countries.

Israeli officials estimate that the proposed "humanitarian city" in Rafah would cost between $2.7 billion and $4 billion. They added that, if the plan proceeds, Israel would initially bear nearly the entire cost.

“With the 15 billion that (Finance Minister Bezalel) Smotrich's humanitarian city in Rafah will cost, we could have reduced our children's class sizes, lowered fuel and public transportation prices, subsidized daycare and kindergartens. This is just the beginning,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X.

Lapid accused Netanyahu of enabling far-right ministers to pursue “extreme fantasies.”

“That money won't come back. Netanyahu is letting Smotrich and (National Security Minister Itamar) Ben-Gvir run wild.”

“Instead of plundering the middle class's money, end the war and bring back the hostages,” he said.

The opposition leader called the plan for Rafah tent city “a bad idea from every possible angle – security, political, economic, and logistical.”

“If people (Palestinians) can't leave, it's a detention camp, and if they can leave, there's no such thing as a humanitarian city.”

“The Israeli army, of course, strongly opposes it; there's nothing good about it except an attempt to create a process that will ultimately leave Israel stuck in Gaza with no choice,” Lapid said.

Questioning its feasibility, he asked, “How will that be enforced? There'll be 600,000 people with a fence around them.”

- Messianic delusion

Yair Golan, head of the Democrats Party, called the Israeli plan for Rafah tent city “a messianic delusion.”

“A government that prefers to spend 15 billion shekels on another messianic delusion in the Gaza Strip destined for failure, instead of rebuilding a hospital damaged in the war, is an abandoning government that hates its citizens,” he said in a statement.

Benny Gantz, a former war cabinet minister and leader of the National Unity Party, said the government relies on fueling domestic insecurity to remain in power.

“Netanyahu summons Ben-Gvir for a discussion about the future of the coalition, instead of an urgent debate on crime,” he said, referring to a Saturday attack that killed a woman in Lod city, southeast of Tel Aviv.

“He is worried that he will resign, instead of firing him for the grave failure as a minister,” he added.

Gantz renewed his call for a “national consensus government” to replace “extremist ministers who are preoccupied with public relations and enjoy political immunity.”

- Different leadership

Former Defense Minister and leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu Party, Avigdor Lieberman, also denounced the Israeli plan.

“Instead of investing 15 billion NIS in soldiers and civilians, the October 7th government chooses to transfer our tax money directly to Hamas. Or, in Smotrich's polished words – a ‘humanitarian' complex in Gaza,” he said.

“We need different leadership, and the sooner, the better,” he added.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 58,000 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and a spread of disease.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.