Mossad Chief Pushes For US Assistance In Removing Gazans To Outside Countries
According to a new report by Axios, Mossad director David Barnea visited Washington this week to seek US support for Israel's efforts to persuade regional countries to accept large numbers of Palestinians which Israel plans to forcibly remove from Gaza.
Citing two sources familiar with the discussions, Axios reported that Barnea informed White House envoy Steve Witkoff that Israel has been holding talks with Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Libya about taking in Palestinian refugees. This as there's been on and off negotiations with Hamas, which haven't produced any truce settlement, and the war with Hamas has continued to spiral.
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that any relocation of Gaza’s population would be "voluntary," many international legal experts and war monitors argue that such a plan would amount to ethnic cleansing and should be deemed a war crime.
The sources cited in Axios said Barnea told Witkoff that the three countries showed a willingness to accept substantial numbers of Palestinians, and that he suggested the US provide incentives to encourage their cooperation.
In the case of two of the countries, Ethiopia and Libya, there are long-simmering clashes and the potential for renewed civil war present. Libya in particular is actually controlled by at least two rival governments and powerful warlords have sway over the east.
It doesn't appear that Witkoff has committed to supporting the proposal, and representatives from the three named countries have not issued public statement.
Back in February, President Trump put forward an ultra-controversial proposal to expel all two million Palestinians from Gaza, paving the way for Israel transform the strip into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
It was at that time that US officials reportedly began to pressure Prime Minister Netanyahu to identify countries willing to take in large numbers of Palestinians displaced from the Gaza Strip as a result.
The McAmericanization of ancient Gaza?
As it stands, nearly the entire population of Gaza, of over two million people, has been internally displaced, as Israeli airstrikes have devastated much of the region, including the destruction of homes, hospitals, mosques, schools, and even churches.
No comments:
Post a Comment