Proposed Egyptian dumping ground for expelled Gazans
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For weeks, Israeli generals and journalists have been debating how Israel should proceed in Gaza, especially on the “day after.” Does Israel conduct a ground invasion and fight to eliminate Hamas completely? If it does, who will rule? Who takes Hamas’ place? Does Israel reoccupy Gaza?
The Israeli security think tank, Misgav (the Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy or INSZL) is funded by the far-right Kohelet Forum. Its director is Meir Ben Shabbat, a former national security advisor and 25 year veteran of the Shin Bet. Misgav has answered the question. Its proposes an Israeli form of the Final Solution of the the “Gaza Problem”: expulsion. The think tank produced a paper, written by Ari Vaitman entitled, A plan for resettlement and final rehabilitation in Egypt of the entire population of Gaza: economic aspects. The full paper (pdf in Hebrew) is here.
Lest anyone think this is a delusional, even genocidal proposal, remember it was the Kohelet Forum that produced papers like this one, which are now government policy and being implemented by law; papers which argued for destroying the Israeli judiciary, and consolidating power in the hands of the far-right fascist ministers. Its proposals are being enacted–against the will of much of Israel.
On a subject like Gaza, which Israelis see as Trump’s equivalent of a “shithole country,” Misgav could convince Israelis much more easily of the propriety of its plans.
Nakba 2.0: the plan
Here is an English translation of the Hebrew tweet below:
There is currently a unique and rare opportunity to evacuate [sic] the entire Gaza Strip in coordination with the Egyptian government. An immediate, realistic and sustainable plan for the resettlement and humanitarian rehabilitation of the entire Arab population in the Gaza Strip is required which aligns well with the economic and geopolitical interests of Israel, Egypt, the USA and Saudi Arabia.
• In 2017, it was reported that there are about 10 million vacant housing units in Egypt, of which about half are built and half are under construction. For example, in the two largest satellite cities of Cairo…there is a huge amount of built and empty apartments owned by the government and private parties, and construction areas sufficient to house about 6 million inhabitants.
• The average cost of a 3-room apartment with an area of 95 square meters for an average Gazan family consisting of 5.14 people in one of the two cities indicated above is about $19,000. Taking into account the currently known size of the entire population living in the Gaza Strip, which ranges from about 1.4 For approximately 2.2 million people, one can estimate that the total amount required and to be transferred to Egypt to finance the project, will be on the order of $5-8 billion.
• Injecting an immediate stimulus of such size into the Egyptian economy would provide a tremendous and immediate benefit to al-Sisi’s regime. These sums, in relation to the Israeli economy, are minimal. Investing a few billion dollars (even if it is $20- or $30-billion) to solve this difficult issue is an innovative, cheap and sustainable solution.
• There is no doubt that in order for this plan to be realized, many conditions must exist concurrently. Currently, these conditions are optimal, and it is unclear when another such an opportunity will arise, if ever.
נייר עמדה: תכנית ליישוב מחדש ושיקום סופי במצרים של כל אוכלוסיית עזה: היבטים כלכליים
מאת אמיר וייטמן
עיקרים:
• קיימת כרגע הזדמנות חד פעמית ונדירה לפנות את כלל רצועת עזה בתיאום עם ממשלת מצרים. נדרשת תכנית מיידית, ריאלית וברת-קיימא ליישוב מחדש ושיקום הומניטאריים של כלל… pic.twitter.com/3tAM7IblGE
— מכון משגב לביטחון לאומי ולאסטרטגיה ציונית (@MisgavINS) October 17, 2023
Israel’s fascist ministers and MKs have boasted about Nakba 2.0 in recent speeches. This is Nakba on steroids. It doesn’t matter if this plan is never enacted (though it very well might). The main goal is to inject these ideas like a toxin into the body politic. To normalize ethnic cleansing in Israel discourse. That isn’t a difficult proposition at all, given that every Israeli poll asking about views on “transfer” (i.e. expulsion) of the Palestinian population, finds up to 40% of Israeli Jews agree. So there is already a built-in constituency for it.
One glaring weakness of the plan is how it would be carried out. There is no mention of voluntary transfer. Presumably, Gazans would have no choice but to leave. How would you force 1.5-million people to abandon their homes and move to a foreign country? Put them on cattle cars?
The difference between the polls mentioned above and this plan is that the former ask the respondents a general question, without asking for concrete means of carrying it out. So Israelis answer a theoretical question, not a practical one.
This plan, on the other hand, offers a clear roadmap how to carry out full-scale ethnic cleansing. That is something new. Chekhov is reputed to have said that if there is a gun on stage in the first act, it will be fired by the third. This is the first act of Gaza ethnic cleansing.
The second stage would be doing the same to the Palestinian population on the West Bank, Again, this is not a theoretical issue. It is a very concrete one. During the Gaza War, settlers have taken advantage of the world’s attention being focused elsewhere to forcibly expel nearly 1,000 Gazans living in 12 small villages. They did so by destroying livestock, olive trees and even murdering residents. All with total impunity. In fact, with the protection of the IDF. Imagine Judeo-terrorists with guns need the added protection of the IDF to carry out their pogroms! Once they succeed in depopulating the smaller villages they will move on to the larger ones. Finally, there will be inexorable momentum to expel all West Bank Palestinians.
The settler ministers, Ben Gvir and Smotrich, readily and enthusiastically endorse these acts of Judeo-terror. They would certainly endorse full-scale ethnic cleansing of the entire population of 2.5-million Palestinians. Where would they go? Where hundreds of thousands of expellees went after the 1967 War: to Jordan.
Egypt and Jordan: no way!
Imagine what King Abdullah, whose country is already 50% Palestinian, thinks about absorbing that many immigrants. The kingdom’s population is 11-million. Adding that many people means a 25% population increase. It would tax the resources and infrastructure, not to mention foment a huge amount of social unrest, including resentment of the newcomers.
Conditions in Egypt render the think tank plan moot. The country faces enormous social and political strains. There is an Islamist insurgency in the Sinai which threatens security forces. It is also one of the most corrupt governments on earth. All those billions likely won’t build a single house. Rather they will line the pockets of al-Sisi and his cronies.
The plan is daft. The product of a way of thinking that treats human beings as livestock to be herded out of one corral and into another. Palestinians are a “problem.” A problem needs a solution.
They pose an ongoing threat to a Judeo-supremacist state envisioned by the Kohelet Forum and its fascist cultists. The easiest and best answer is simply to get rid of them, finally. A neat and simple and final solution.
It does present at least one problem: it is genocide. The forced removal of an entire population from its homes is not only a violation of international law (which Israel ignores) but genocide. The world can countenance virtually any Israeli atrocity. But this may be on too many. The world may, and should step in and stop this. Then, it may be time for implementation of BDS, an international boycott.
While the paper itself presents a delusional plan shot through with presumption and implausible assumptions, it must not be dismissed as the product of the fevered mind of the right-wing mad scientist. Frankenstein rules the kingdom.
Israel’s plan is to push all Palestinians in northern Gaza to southern Gaza, to steal the land, and to never again provide services to southern Gaza (water, food, fuel, medicine), dumping the entire Gaza population onto the international community.
Only the United States can stop this. But will they?
Yep … my article on the 18th :: travels in the Middle East “Antony Blinken Offered Palestinians Nakba II”
Yesterday’s headline …
Expect further escalation … assisted by US guns from the Ike Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG) aircraft carrier off coast.
Northern Front: NEMA began to evacuate 28 communities that are within two kilometers (1.25 miles) of the border, as well as the city of Kiryat Shmona (pop. 23;000). Much protest and scolding towards political leaders in Jerusalem.
This is absurd. Kohelet wrote thousands of these proposal papers and none of them go through. At the end of the day, the Israeli government makes the decision. Stop fanning the flames of hatred.
@Jamal: this is a lie. In fact, every aspect of the judicial coup was devised by Kohelet and fed to the right wing MKs plotting to destory what little is left of Israeli democracy.
This was your one comment in this thread. You may only publish a single comment in any thread.
US-Israeli Officials and War Crimes Against Peace
Richard, would you support allowing interested Palestinians to go to Egypt and settle there?
The current situation where Palestinians are forced to remain refugees in neighboring countries, instead of restarting their life maintains their right to the land but destroy their opportunities in life. It benefits Israel as some Palestinians are less involved but for interested individuals, it gives a chance for prosperity if they wish for it.
Why are the Zionist foreign settlers particularly interested in Palestinian land east of the Green demarcation line?
I don’t think your question is related to mine and I don’t know what are ‘Zionist foreign settlers’.
As far as I know, most settler are interested in those area b/c the historic Judea kingdom was there. thus the name Judea and Samaria. Same goes for Jerusalem.
Oui, what is your opinion, are Palestinians who want to avoid the issue and start their life somewhere should be allowed to do so?
@ Danny:
I don’t use those terms. The proper term as far as most of the world is concerned is the ‘Occupied Territories.’ Don’t use the the phrase you did, here.
Please don’t attempt to create a discussion around questions like yours. This is not a site dedicated to gaming out crackpot ideas of Israeli genociders.
You may only publish a single comment in each thread. This is your second in this thread. No more here, please.
Danny, would you support the Palestinian right to return to their stolen land and homes in “Israel”?
@Danny:
First, it’s a preposterous question, akin to asking me if I would support ‘allowing’ the Cherokee interested in walking a thousand miles to Oklahoma. Would any Cherokee have voluntarily agreed to such a stupid prospect? Would any Gazan voluntarily move to Egypt? Would any Egyptian government permit any Palestinians to settle in Egypt?
Finally, it’s not up to me to ‘allow’ or ‘support’ any such scheme. It’s for Palestinians for themselves to decide.
Richard. Have you ever given a thought why you’re consumed with the lunatic fringe?
@ Miroslav: I’m consumed by justice and peace and consumed with the fight against genocide. I’ve never given a thought to why you’re consumed by a country engaged in genocide.
@ Miroslav: I’m consumed by justice and peace and consumed with the fight against genocide. I’ve never given a thought to why you’re consumed by a country engaged in genocide.
I consider this comment snark. I don’t care for it. So don’t do it.
Rutte yesterday and Macron today [press briefing] are useful idiots pretending they could sway Israel’s war cabinet just a little towards humanitarian decency for 2.2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Both are a fig leaf for a massive assault as Netanyahu will use their presence as a green light to go ahead and knock out Hamas wherever they are hiding. The Dutch Islamophobic right wing press will hail the courage of caretaker PM Mark Rutte for his neutral and humanitarian mission to Netanyahu and another useful idiot Abbas in Ramallah. Keeping the home front together as Rutte has pledged full support for Israel during his 13 year tenure in The Hague.
My transcript from Al Jazeera interview:
Asked about proportionality …
Mark Rutte: First of all, I cannot judge, but of course I’m worried, but I cannot judge whether at the moment … ehh … yes or no Israel is completely … ehh … working within the lines of proportionality and international human law, ehh humanitarian law … I cannot judge that because I do not know all the facts on the table … this of course is up to Israel at this moment to navigate. But I very much stressed the point and the practicality of that is the humanitarian access, the practicality of that is preventing regional escalation, the practicality of that is taking out the hostages and the foreigners … and the practicality is to do everything, and that is the main issue, of preventing innocent civilians to be … ehh … to be … ehh … to … ehh .. killed if not necessary.
Ukraine and Gaza may be different in many ways and yet, they suffer equally. People wonder if it’s not suicide to keep on fighting Russia. Maybe but it’s their home, their land and Russia has no right to it. They also have a lot of international support. The big difference for the people of Gaza, international support is not there. The heads of the European and North American countries, don’t seem to care. They don’t seem to be touched by the pictures of death, destruction, of a total humanitarian crisis. I understand Israel has suffered but they have food, water, electricity, gas, fully functional hospitals. International support. It’s hard to see the hardship of both places as equal. They don’t compare.
No historical claim? Much easier to equate Russia with Israel, both are occupiers contrary to International law. Both nations claim an existential threat.
When Catherine the Great Invaded the Crimea and Put the Rest of the World on Edge
Egypt Is No Friend of Hamas
Hamas is linked to Türkiye and Qatar primarily, the Muslim Brotherhood. For the same reason Mohamed Morsi was ousted July 2013 in a bloody coup. The Gulf states too have a major issue with the MB and banned the organization.
FYI: They have removed the study now from Google Docs or made it unavailable to other accounts. I have seen it earlier this month and it is real. So they noticed and are trying to remove their tracks. If anyone downloaded the file please reupload and share.