Israel denies resettlement plan
Parts of the Israeli government see the current war as an opportunity to relocate residents in Gaza to other countries. At least two ultra-right-wing ministers are pursuing this idea. Allegedly, there have already been secret talks with the Congo.
The Israeli government is discussing the possibility of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to other countries. Two radical right-wing ministers in the Israeli government have caused outrage. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had publicly spoken out in favor of "resettling the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip" and received a lot of criticism from the USA, France and Germany.
It was only on Monday that Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu declared at a meeting that he was working on facilitating the "voluntary" migration of Gaza Strip residents to other countries. "Our problem is to find countries that are willing to accept people from the Gaza Strip, and we are working on that," he said. A report in the Times of Israel revealed: The government is said to have already made "secret contacts" with other countries, including the Republic of Congo: "Congo will be ready to take in migrants and we are holding talks with other countries," the paper quoted a source in the security cabinet as saying.
However, a high-ranking Israeli government representative denied to the newspaper that there were any such talks with the Congo. According to the government representative, the idea of resettling people from the Gaza Strip to the Congo may have been discussed by individual ministers. However, the government as a whole knew nothing about this and was also "not in a position to bring people from here to the Congo".
"I don't know where this idea came from"
There are "people in Israel who believe that people in the Gaza Strip are willing to emigrate voluntarily", said the informant, who wished to remain anonymous. "In my opinion, this is an unfounded illusion. No country is going to take in two million people, or one million, or 100,000, or 5,000. I don't know where this idea comes from."
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the second largest country in Africa in terms of area and the fourth largest in terms of population and is not a safe country. 52.5 percent of the population live below the poverty line, according to the World Food Program. However, the war between Israel and Hamas is also leading to an ever-growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. So far, no country has agreed to take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip on a temporary basis.
The demand by the two ultra-right-wing ministers caused great outrage in the USA, France and Germany. Security Minister Gvir said that the withdrawal of Palestinians and the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip was "a correct, just, moral and humane solution". The Foreign Ministry in Paris stated that France condemned such "provocative statements". They are "irresponsible and fuel tensions".
Israel's Finance Minister Smotrich had also suggested that Israel should "encourage" the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to resettle in other countries. If Israel proceeds correctly, there will be an exodus of Palestinians "and we will live in the Gaza Strip", the Israeli finance minister told an army radio station. Statements like this are "neither sensible nor helpful", said a spokesperson for the German Foreign Office in Berlin. There should also be no expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza or a territorial reduction of the Gaza Strip. A two-state solution was the only sensible model.
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The Israeli government's proposal to resettle Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to other countries, including potentially the Republic of Congo, has sparked controversy. Despite reports of secret talks with the Congo, a high-ranking Israeli government representative denounced these claims, stating that the government was not involved.
The Israeli war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the region. However, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the second largest country in Africa in terms of population, is not a safe destination for Palestinians, with over half the population living below the poverty line.
Source: www.ntv.de
