ELIZABETH PALMER:
00:00:14
The south of Gaza was once a thriving Palestinian neighborhood. But by the time I visited last fall with the Israeli military, it was a wasteland. Now Israel's defense minister has plans to make it into a so-called humanitarian city-- in reality, a vast tent camp. Basically, though the logistics are vague, Israel's military would filter out any Hamas fighters from 600,000 Gazans who'd move in but without the right to leave again. This is not humanitarian, and it's not a city. It's an internment camp.
ELIZABETH PALMER:
00:00:54
Michael Sfard, an Israeli human-rights lawyer, says it's a violation of international law. And it was the Jewish people who suffered persecution, deportation, ethnic cleansing, and genocide more than any other people in history. So I just cannot fathom how Jewish political leaders and Jewish generals are even contemplating on doing to others what was done to us. It's being proposed as almost a haven. Why should we not believe that? Because it's not consensual. Because people will go there because they will not have any other choice.
ELIZABETH PALMER:
00:01:38
Sfard says forcing people with airstrikes or lack of food to relocate against their will is illegal. Many Gazans will resist. Like the [? Al-Ghoul ?] family, who have remade a home for their kids four times after being forced out by Israel's military. To [INAUDIBLE] [? Al-Ghoul, ?] the so-called humanitarian city is a dangerous idea. We refuse that. We refuse that. I still here in Gaza, in Gaza City, and I am ready to die in Gaza City. There is opposition inside Israel to the humanitarian city, but the government appears to want to forge ahead. In fact, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, John, has asked the army to speed up the plan. Liz Palmer in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Liz.
