According to Axios, citing two informed sources, Mossad chief David Barnea traveled to Washington this week to urge the U.S. to persuade countries to accept hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza.
Kabul 24: While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls this a “voluntary transfer,” many U.S. and Israeli legal experts label it “forced displacement” and a potential “war crime” given Gaza’s dire humanitarian conditions and widespread destruction.
Barnea, in a meeting with Steve Witkoff, a White House special envoy, revealed that Israel is in talks with Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Libya to accept large numbers of Gaza Palestinians. He requested U.S. assistance in offering incentives to these countries to facilitate the plan.
Witkoff reportedly took no clear stance, leaving U.S. involvement uncertain.Israel’s plan to relocate much of Gaza’s population to a small “humanitarian zone” near Egypt’s border has sparked intense controversy. Egypt and Western nations view it as an attempt to fulfill the long-standing agenda of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition to expel Palestinians from Gaza.
Nearly all of Gaza’s two million residents have been displaced during the ongoing war, with most buildings damaged or destroyed.
In February, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed relocating Gaza’s entire population for “reconstruction,” but the idea was abandoned after strong Arab backlash.
However, Israeli officials say Trump’s administration advised Netanyahu to find countries willing to accept Palestinians, a task assigned to Mossad.
At a recent White House dinner, Netanyahu emphasized the “voluntary” nature of the transfers, claiming Palestinians could return to Gaza anytime. Critics, however, argue that such promises are unrealistic amid the current crisis, raising serious concerns about human rights violations
