The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working to “achieve the voluntary displacement of the residents of the Gaza Strip to other countries.”
The newspaper referred to statements by Netanyahu in this regard that came in response to Likud Party MP Danny Danon, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee in the Israeli Knesset, during a meeting today, Monday, held by the party bloc led by Netanyahu, where he said, “Our problem is the countries that are ready to absorb refugees, and we are working to solve it.”
In turn, Danny Danon said, “The world is already discussing this matter. The Canadian Minister of Immigration spoke about these matters publicly, as did Nikki Haley (a potential Republican candidate for the US presidency).”
Danon suggested “forming a team in the State of Israel that will take care of this issue and make sure that anyone who wants to leave Gaza for a third country can do so,” explaining, “This must be organized, because of its strategic importance for the day after the war.”
According to the newspaper, Netanyahu responded to Danon, “We are working on that.”
Previous proposals
Last November, Danon published an article in the American newspaper “The Wall Street Journal”, in partnership with Ram Ben Barak, who belongs to the Yesh Atid party, in which they called for what they described as “a voluntary evacuation of the Arabs of Gaza to the countries of the world,” and they wrote that “ International organizations can play a central role in transferring Gazans who wish to do so to countries that agree to receive them,” considering that “even a relatively small initial number of 10,000 Gazans per receiving country will significantly alleviate the suffering of the population and improve the situation in Gaza,” they said.
In an interview with Israeli Channel 12 in the same month, Ben Barak considered, “If all the residents of Gaza are refugees, then let us distribute them around the world. There are 2.5 million people. Each of the 100 countries accommodates 20,000 people. This is humanitarian and required, as they are already refugees.” “It is better for a person to be a refugee in Canada than to be a refugee in Gaza.”
Last October, an internal document of the Israeli Ministry of Intelligence was revealed with a plan to displace the residents of Gaza to Sinai following the end of the war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on the 7th of this month.
This document indicates the establishment of a fortified area in which evacuated residents cannot return to the Strip. It also calls for cooperation with the largest possible number of countries so that they can receive the Palestinians displaced from Gaza.
A suspicious Canadian program
Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced last Thursday that his country will launch an immigration program starting next January, allowing residents of the Gaza Strip who have Canadian relatives to apply for a temporary visa.
The minister told reporters that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will grant a temporary residence permit for a period of 3 years to every person who wishes to leave the Gaza Strip and has a family relationship with a Canadian citizen, whether they are ascendants, descendants, or spouses.
“We know that many Canadians are concerned about the safety of their loved ones in Gaza, which is why we are announcing temporary immigration measures,” he added, acknowledging that at the moment “it is very difficult to get out of Gaza.”
This announcement raised suspicion of efforts to displace the people of Gaza and empty the Strip of its population on an ethnic basis, in line with Israeli plans, especially since Knesset member Ben Barak was quick to welcome the announcement, writing in a comment on social media, “I applaud the Canadian Minister of Immigration for his willingness to absorb refugees.” Palestinians from Gaza.
Recently, more than 600 Canadians and permanent residents of Canada were able to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing.
Since the seventh of last October, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, which has left about 20,674 dead, 54,536 wounded, most of them children and women, and massive destruction of infrastructure.
