Netanyahu could send Gazans to Congo

GAZANS could be relocated to Congo at the end of Israel’s war against Hamas under a “voluntary migration scheme”.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is reportedly having talks to have Congo and other nations accept thousands.

“Congo will be willing to take in migrants, and we’re in talks with others,” a source in the security cabinet told Zman Israel website. The news report said Gazan “migration” was becoming the leading policy of the government as a solution to the conflict.

In Gaza, a humanitarian crisis is growing amid shortages of supplies, including food and clean water. What will happen to the enclave at the end of the fighting remains unclear. Congo has high inequality and 52.5 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.

Mr Netanyahu told a meeting of his Likud party last week that he was working towards facilitating the “voluntary migration” of Gazans.

“Our problem is [finding] countries that are willing to absorb Gazans,” the prime minister said.

The comments were made in response to Danny Danon, a member of the Israeli Knesset, who claimed that “the world is already discussing the possibilities of voluntary immigration”.

The far-right Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties, led by Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, and Itamar Ben-gvir, the national security minister, have voiced their support. Backers for migration have emerged from Likud. Gila Gamliel, the intelligence minister, told Zman Israel on Tuesday that “voluntary migration is the best and most realistic programme for the day after the fighting ends”.

Ms Gamliel said during a conference in the Knesset that, at the end of the war, Hamas rule will collapse, leaving the population “entirely dependent” on humanitarian aid.

“The Gaza problem is not just our problem,” she said. “The world should support humanitarian emigration because that’s the only solution I know.”

The international community, including the United States, has rejected the idea of expelling Gazans.