Times of Israel reported yesterday, based upon a senior government source, that Israel has had clandestine discussions with the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African nations over plans for the resettlement of thousands of Gaza’s Palestinians. It is called “voluntary,” even though the displaced are given little choice, not being allowed back to their homes. TOI says that the plans are “slowly” becoming a key policy for Netanyahu’s government. The daily quoted its source as saying: “Congo will be willing to take in migrants, and we’re in talks with others.” On Jan. 1, Netanyahu told a Likud Party meeting about progress on the project, but added that “our problem is countries that are willing to absorb Gazans.”
The TOI report supplements other Israeli indications of their policy to push Palestinians out of Gaza, despite the Jan. 2 condemnation by the U.S. State Department. Israel’s racist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich dismissed Washington’s objection to his “resettlement” policy yesterday, claiming that some 70% of Israelis support the proposal, because “2 million people [in Gaza] wake up every morning with the desire to destroy the State of Israel.” Netanyahu’s office has previously issued statements to say that Smotrich and National Security Minister Ben-Gvir do not represent official government policy over the conflict in Gaza.
