Israel is Covertly Negotiating Resettlement of Palestinians From Gaza

Israel and the United States are pushing forward with efforts to relocate hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, a move they have framed in humanitarian terms, The Wall Street Journal reports. Governments in Europe and the Arab world have criticized it as unrealistic and a potential violation of international law.

The idea, which Israeli officials have publicly mulled since the start of the war in Gaza, gained prominence earlier this year when President Trump said the United States should’ve taken control of the Strip and rebuilt it as an international tourist destination, relocating many of its two million residents.

The focus of international attention has shifted, but proponents of the idea are still working on it. Israeli officials have told their counterparts in a half-dozen countries and territories, including Libya, South Sudan, Somaliland and Syria, to accept Palestinians who agree to leave Gaza, according to people familiar with the matter.

Israel and the United States are also pressuring Egypt to relocate people from Gaza to the Sinai Peninsula, some of them said. Egypt, which once controlled the Gaza Strip, has strongly opposed the idea. Its border with Gaza makes it a logistically attractive destination in the eyes of supporters of the idea. According to some people, the pressure has led to a number of contentious meetings, including high-profile arguments between Israeli and Egyptian officials.

“President Trump has long advocated for creative solutions to improve the lives of Palestinians, including allowing them to relocate to a new, beautiful place while Gaza recovers,” said White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly. “However, Hamas must first agree to disarm and end this war, and we have no further details to provide at this time,” she added.

Israeli negotiations to relocate Gazans to South Sudan or Libya are ongoing, some of the people said. Previous talks about settling Palestinians in Syria or Somaliland, the separatist region of Somalia, have not made much progress, one of the people said.

Most of the countries under consideration have their own problems with instability and economic woes and are likely to try to accept hundreds of thousands of migrants in exchange for economic support or other benefits.

Last month, the Trump administration deported several migrants from the United States to South Sudan and pressured a number of African countries to accept American deportees as well. According to officials, South Sudan is seeking to reset relations with Washington, leaving it open to accepting additional U.S. deportees and engaging in discussions with Israel on accepting Palestinians.

The issue of resettlement is a sensitive one. Legal organizations, humanitarian groups, and some governments have questioned whether the withdrawal will be voluntary. Some, including Malaysia, the UN and Human Rights Watch, warn that the idea could amount to ethnic cleansing.

Accepting a Palestinian state would be suicidal for Israel, especially after it last gave up land in Gaza, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told Newsmax in an interview on Wednesday. “In the international community, this has become the slogan ‘two-state solution’. Who said it was a solution? I guess that’s the problem. I say it is an illusion of two states,” Sa’ar said.

“The fact is that we have already tried this brilliant idea,” Sa’ar continued, “We did it when we completely withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005. What was called the disengagement plan at the time was 20 years ago. We dismantled all of our military camps, all of our communities, even the graves from the cemeteries.”

“But still, the way they responded was to build the biggest kingdom of terror on earth. And it didn’t take long for them to attack again and again with rockets. And it took 16 years from the day Hamas took over the Gaza Strip [in 2007] until October 7th,” Sa’ar said.

Currently, the Israeli Defense Forces have intensified their actions in the Zaytun Quarter on the outskirts of Gaza City. These actions are said to be part of a larger effort to capture Gaza City. Hamas militants are resisting. The Israelis are striking at terrorist ground and underground infrastructure.