Ben-Gvir Says Israel Could 'Sell' Palestinians Abroad as West Bank Children Are Arrested

Israel's national security minister has said other countries could be paid to accept Palestinians, three weeks before an election in which his Otzma Yehudit party has made the creation of an emigration ministry one of its top demands for joining the next government.

Itamar Ben-Gvir made the remarks in an interview with Israel's Channel 14, in a clip released on Saturday 3 October 2026. Asked why another country would agree to accept Palestinians, he replied 'for money', and said that while this would cost Israel, it would ultimately save money in the defence budget, according to Al Jazeera and a transcript of the clip circulating online.

The same weekend, footage showed Israeli soldiers detaining schoolchildren during a raid in the occupied West Bank as parents pleaded with them.

'For Money' on Channel 14

The exchange was short. The presenter suggested that critics would say Israel was selling Palestinians, and Ben-Gvir answered that receiving countries would be paid. Middle East Eye characterised the remarks as saying Israel would sell Palestinians to other countries.

Al Jazeera linked the idea to cost. In its Jerusalem Daily bulletin on 4 October, it reported Ben-Gvir as saying the arrangement would save on Israel's defence budget.

'Disengagement 710' and the 27 October Vote

The remarks build on a party proposal. On 3 September, Ben-Gvir unveiled an election plan called Disengagement 710, which seeks to facilitate the departure of 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in its first year, 1.11 million within three years and 1.86 million within seven, the Times of Israel reported.

His Otzma Yehudit party describes it as voluntary emigration, and the plan contemplates financial benefits for receiving countries, which is directly relevant to his latest remarks.

It is not government policy. Ben-Gvir wants a dedicated emigration ministry written into the next coalition agreement after the 27 October election, and his party has named Turkey, Ethiopia, Congo and unspecified Arab states as potential destinations. No country has publicly agreed to take part.

The proposals face strong international opposition. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the forcible transfer or deportation of protected civilians from occupied territory, and in March 2025 the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, joined Arab and Islamic ministers in a statement rejecting the transfer or displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank.

Critics argue that a mass emigration programme in the conditions of war and occupation could not be genuinely voluntary.

Parents Pleading With Soldiers

The arrests took place against that backdrop. Al Jazeera's footage showed parents pleading with Israeli soldiers as they detained schoolchildren during a raid in the occupied West Bank, and Israeli forces also arrested two 15-year-old boys in al-Tur, south-east of Jerusalem, on Sunday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The arrests came amid a broader pattern. The Palestinian Center for Prisoner Studies said Israeli forces arrested 530 Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem during September, including 39 children and 15 women and girls, according to the Palestine Chronicle, which also reported that settlers attacked students heading to Huwwara Boys Secondary School near Nablus on Sunday.

Ben-Gvir is asking Israeli voters to back his party's demand for a ministry overseeing Palestinian emigration, days after saying that receiving countries could be paid to take them.