Egypt Daily News – In a sensitive diplomatic effort that has stirred international controversy, Mossad Director David Barnea reportedly traveled to the United States this week to request American assistance in persuading several countries to accept the relocation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza. According to sources cited by the news site Axios, Barnea presented the plan to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff during high-level discussions in Washington.
The Israeli intelligence chief reportedly named Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Libya—an Arab state—as nations Israel has engaged in preliminary talks with about the possibility of receiving displaced Palestinians. Barnea indicated that these countries had shown a degree of openness to the idea, and suggested that the United States could play a crucial role by offering incentives to encourage their cooperation.
The reported initiative appears to be part of a broader Israeli objective to reduce the population of Gaza, a move that has sparked alarm among human rights experts and legal scholars. While the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, insists that any such relocation would be voluntary, several American and Israeli legal experts have condemned the strategy as a potential war crime under international law, raising concerns about forced displacement during an ongoing conflict.
During the meeting, Barnea reportedly emphasized the importance of U.S. involvement in shaping international support for the proposal. However, Witkoff’s response was described by sources as noncommittal, and it remains unclear whether the Biden administration is prepared to take an active role in advancing the plan.
Neither the White House nor the offices of the Israeli Prime Minister, and the foreign ministries of Ethiopia, Indonesia, or Libya have publicly responded to requests for comment.
The idea of relocating Gazans is not new. In February, former U.S. President Donald Trump floated a similar proposal involving the transfer of approximately two million Palestinians out of Gaza to facilitate the territory’s reconstruction. That plan was quickly shelved following strong opposition from both Arab states and the broader international community. U.S. officials at the time reportedly told Israel that if Netanyahu’s government wished to pursue the concept, it would need to find countries willing to accept displaced Palestinians. Mossad was subsequently tasked with that effort.
The current conflict in Gaza has resulted in nearly the entire population being displaced, with many people forced to move multiple times. Much of the territory’s infrastructure has been decimated in the ongoing Israeli military campaign. Israel has indicated plans to relocate civilians to what it calls a “humanitarian zone” near the Egyptian border—an initiative that has raised alarms in Cairo and among Western allies, who fear it may be a precursor to large-scale, permanent expulsion.
During his visit to Washington last week, Netanyahu was asked about the issue in a joint appearance with former President Trump. Netanyahu deferred to Trump, who expressed support for what he termed “free choice.” Netanyahu echoed that sentiment, saying: “If people want to stay, they can stay. But if they want to leave, they should be able to. Gaza should not be a prison.”
Following the meeting, a senior Israeli official told reporters that Trump had expressed continued interest in facilitating the resettlement of Gazans outside the strip, although no formal position was announced by the White House.
