Israel is currently in talks with the Congo and several other countries to explore the possibility of permanently settling the Palestinian population of Gaza there.
– Congo will be willing to accept migrants, and we are in talks with others, a senior security cabinet source confirmed, according to the Times of Israel.
The transfer of the Palestinian population from their homes to other countries is said to be “voluntary,” but observers say it is in fact a forced transfer aimed at ethnically cleansing Gaza and making living conditions so unbearable for the civilian population that they have no choice but to leave.
According to Israeli media, the government of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already begun talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others, to get the poor African nation to accept “thousands of migrants”. Saudi Arabia has also been mentioned as a possible destination.
The Israeli government is reportedly discussing the possibility of offering financial incentives to Gazans who agree to move to other countries. Netanyahu himself has previously stated that “the big problem” is finding countries willing to accept the Palestinians – but that they are actively working on it.
Intelligence minister Gila Gamliel also believes that “voluntary migration is the best and most realistic program for the day after the fighting stops”.
– The Gaza problem is not only our problem. The world should support humanitarian emigration because it is the only solution that I know of, she added.
UN chief condemns
Israel has also proposed that Europe and the United States take in large numbers of Palestinian refugees made homeless by Israeli bombardments.
But Israel’s plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians after the war has been strongly criticized by human rights groups and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.
Very disturbed by high-level Israeli officials' statements on plans to transfer civilians from #Gaza to third countries. 85 percent of people in Gaza are already internally displaced. They have the right to return to their homes. Int'l law prohibits forcible transfer of protected… pic.twitter.com/LMFxa9ur9N
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) January 4, 2024
“Very disturbed by high-level Israeli officials’ statements on plans to transfer civilians from #Gaza to third countries. 85 percent of people in Gaza are already internally displaced. They have the right to return to their homes. Int’l law prohibits forcible transfer of protected persons within or deportation from occupied territory”, he writes on social media platform X.
