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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is set to fly out for a visit to the U.S. this week to meet with top-level Trump administration officials — a week after the official announced a plan to build a concentration camp in Gaza to confine Palestinians.
Israeli outlets report, citing a statement from Katz’s office, that the minister is slated to set out for Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. In D.C., he and other Israeli military officials are expected to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The officials will “discuss a series of security and political issues with his counterpart, foremost among them Iran and other regional threats, procurement matters, and additional strategic cooperation,” Katz’s office said.
The visit comes just a week after Katz announced that he has directed the Israeli military to draw up plans to build a concentration camp in southern Gaza to confine Palestinians. The camp would be built amid a temporary pause in Israeli attacks, and no Palestinian would be allowed to leave, he said.
Katz added that the camp would be managed by international partners, but did not specify who. The plan has been endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of his plot for forcible removal of Palestinians from Gaza.
The U.S. has already been heavily involved in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, including through the U.S. and Israel’s recent Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) project.
So far, the UN has recorded that at least 875 Palestinians have been killed in near-daily massacres near GHF sites, which are managed by U.S. contractors and monitored by Israeli forces. On Wednesday, at least 20 more Palestinians were killed while trying to get aid from a GHF site, with most of the deaths coming from a stampede after American contractors reportedly fired tear gas at the crowd, witnesses said.
Katz’s plan for Gaza has been widely condemned, with many critics labelling it a concentration camp and yet another tool to accelerate Israel’s genocide.
In a letter to Katz and other top Israeli officials last week, 16 Israeli international law scholars said the plan would be a war crime and potentially an act of genocide if carried out. “Anyone who plans, authorizes, or carries out this plan may be held personally responsible for serious international crimes,” the scholars said.
Further, Katz is taking off for the U.S. just days after Israeli settlers backed by Israeli officials killed a Palestinian American, Sayfollah Musallet, in the occupied West Bank.
Last week, Trump administration officials welcomed Netanyahu for a visit to the White House, where he and President Donald Trump reportedly discussed their plans for Gaza — despite the warrant out for Netanyahu’s arrest by the International Criminal Court.
The visits come as Netanyahu’s coalition government is showing signs of strain. Israel’s ultra-Orthodox party, Shas, announced that it is separating itself from Netanyahu’s coalition on Wednesday, dealing Netanyahu a blow that will leave him with a minority in Israel’s Knesset. However, the party said that it will still cooperate with Netanyahu’s coalition and will not work to undermine it.
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