Netanyahu asks Mossad for assistance relocating Gazans to other countries

The effort to relocate the Gazan population of nearly 2 million began with US President Donald Trump’s proposal unveiled in early February for rebuilding Gaza. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly reached out to the Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, for help finding countries that are willing to take in Gaza civilians, according to a report on Friday.

The effort to relocate the Gazan population of nearly two million began with US President Donald Trump’s proposal, unveiled in early February, for rebuilding Gaza.

Since then, most countries approached have turned down the prospect of taking in a large number of Palestinians, except for some sick children.

The Prime Minister’s Office has not yet commented on the issue.

According to press reports, Israel and the US approached Sudan, Somalia, and Somaliland concerning the issue of taking in Palestinians in Gaza.

Sudan turned down the proposal, and Somalia and Somaliland did not acknowledge that discussions had occurred.

There are also reports that Israel and the US have considered relocating Gazans to Syria, with Syrian officials denying knowledge of the proposal.

A hundred Gazans are being successfully relocated to Indonesia in the coming days.

The emigration to Indonesia is part of a new program launched by Israel’s Defense Ministry to help facilitate mass migration from Gaza to third-party countries.

The prospective émigrés are collaborating with the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), led by COGAT chief Major-General Ghassan Alian.

While the migrants will be allowed to return to the Gaza Strip if they decide to leave Indonesia, COGAT is focused on assisting them in settling abroad permanently and has secured employment in Indonesia, mainly in the construction sector.

This migration marks COGAT’s first effort to facilitate large-scale relocation to Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.

Over 200 Gazans, along with their families, left the Gaza Strip on Thursday to seek medical treatment in the United Arab Emirates.

The group underwent security screenings by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) at the Kerem Shalom crossing.