Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Aug. 18 visit to Ukraine first made headlines due to embarrassing gaffes by his wife, Sara Netanyahu. Then came the serious news. A source in Netanyahu’s entourage whose name was not divulged told journalists covering the visit that Israel was willing to encourage one-way emigration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. He said that the National Security Council (NSC) had put out feelers to Arab states to see if they would take Gaza immigrants in, but they had refused. The official also told the dumbfounded reporters that the prime minister had approved the plan and the security cabinet had discussed it several times. He added that Israel had expressed its willingness to cover the costs of moving the Gazans abroad and to put Air Force bases (probably the southern Nevatim base) at their disposal to facilitate their departure.
The official did not divulge what foreign governments Israel had approached, but they were probably Gulf states with which Israel has greatly improved diplomatic ties. These countries are in dire need of working hands, whereas the Palestinians, many of them skilled construction workers, would serve as a cheap labor source.
The NSC plan did not take off, but who knows. Israel, it turns out, is so keen to export — or should one say transfer — the Gazans that it has not been preventing individuals who found refuge elsewhere from leaving, and has even encouraged their departure. In 2018, 35,000 Palestinians left the Strip not to return. Most were educated and relatively well to do, including 150 doctors.
A source in Israel’s Civil Administration confirmed to Al-Monitor that in 2018, Israeli authorities received quite a few applications from Gaza residents wishing to move away and willing to pledge never to return. This year, the requests continue. According to the source, most of those leaving are young people from well-established families in Gaza who have relatives abroad (mostly in Europe, but also in Canada and Australia) that are willing to take them in and help them settle in a new country. Israel, which usually makes it hard for Palestinians to leave Gaza, allowed them to go, hoping they would take the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with them.
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