US to resettle Gazans in IDF-controlled territory – report

Trump administration reportedly preparing pilot program for resettling Gazans on IDF side of the Gaza ceasefire line, building them temporary housing and ensuring their freedom of movement.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

The United States is planning on resettling Gazans in the IDF-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line in ostensibly temporary housing with additional infrastructure, US officials say.

According to a report published by The Atlantic on Tuesday which cited US officials, the Trump administration has drafted a pilot program to test the concept of constructing temporary housing and expansive infrastructure to resettle Gaza civilians.

The new townships would be called “Alternate Safe Communities,” and would include not only temporary homes but also medical centers, schools, and administrative buildings.

Each ASC will be designed to house roughly 25,000 people, the head of the US center in Israel overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, Lieutenant General Patrick Frank, was quoted as saying recently.

One senior Trump administration official has confirmed that the decision to build a pilot ASC has been finalized.

The first ASC will be built in the Rafah sector of southern Gaza, deep in Israeli-held territory.

Israel currently controls 58% of the Gaza Strip, which has been divided since the start of the October ceasefire by the so-called “Yellow Line.”

However, more than 98% of Gazans currently reside in the 42% of Gaza under Hamas control, with much of the territory under Israeli control being undeveloped land or agricultural areas along the periphery of the Strip.

Under the US plan, Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency will vet prospective residents of the first ASC, with the goal of preventing terrorists from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terror groups from moving in alongside civilians.

Few details regarding the vetting process were reported, though an official in Israel said that the Shin Bet would examine candidates for family ties to Hamas.

The US State Department has already contracted an American engineering firm, Tetra Tech, to begin the process of preparing a site for the construction of the first ASC.

Tetra Tech will be responsible for ensuring that any shells, bombs, or projectiles left at the site from the war are safely cleared, along with rubble from demolished buildings.

The implementation of the plan is complicated by Hamas’ ongoing refusal to disarm, hampering phase two of the US peace plan.

Amid lingering questions over the proposed gradual withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza and their replacement with a multinational Islamic security force, State Department officials have fretted that the Yellow Line dividing Gaza could become permanent, leaving Gazans who resettle in the ASCs cut off from the rest of the population.

Israel’s military has reportedly told US officials that it will not permit Gazans who settle on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line to cross back into Hamas-controlled territory, fearing such cross-border movement could facilitate attacks on IDF forces.

However, the State Department is pushing for freedom of movement for residents of the ASCs.