Israeli minister says Libya should host displaced Gazans

While the conflict in Gaza continues to deepen, the outlines of Israel’s plan for displaced Palestinians from Gaza is slowly being revealed.

According to Middle East Monitor on August 7th, Israeli Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter openly discussed Libya becoming a potential host for displaced Gazans.

In an interview with Hebrew newspaper Maariv, Dichter revealed the outlines of a large-scale plan to displace Palestinians besieged by Israel in the Gaza Strip abroad. Dichter went on to say that providing sufficient international support, Gazans would “be happy to leave.”

The Israeli official then claimed that such a measure could be similar to that offered to Syrian refugees after the civil war; a claim that heavily relies on displaced Gazans agreeing to leave if they were offered alternatives.

The agriculture minister believes many Palestinians will find the offer to be attractive. The minister stated: “The longing to build a new life outside Gaza is insane. I see it clearly on Social media. People there know there’s nothing to return to.”

Dichter suggested that Libya was an ideal candidate to host displaced Palestinians due to its parallels with the Gaza Strip: “Libya is a huge country, with vast areas of coastline similar to Gaza’s. If the world invests billions to rehabilitate Gazans there, the host country will also benefit economically.” 

The comments come at the same time Israel appears to be entrenching and expanding its control of the Strip.

Palestinians have been victims of similar actions in the past, most notably, the “Nakba” during Israel’s creation in 1948, in which over 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced. During the current conflict, over 1.9 million people have been forced to relocate by Israel, comprising around 90% of Gaza’s population.

Dichter has even gone as far as saying that Gazans have no right to their land: “Gaza is not their land; it’s here, in Israel. Anyone who lost their home in Gaza can get a plot of land anywhere else. This is not just an economic issue, it’s an existential one.”

Middle East Monitor, Maariv, Maghrebi.org