US Considers Relocating 1 Million Gazans to Libya

US Considers Relocating 1 Million Gazans to Libya

Is it possible to empty Gaza? According to NBC News, the US administration has evaluated a plan to permanently resettle one million Palestinians in Libya. The project appears advanced enough to have been discussed with Libyan leadership and communicated to Israel, though no final agreement exists. In exchange, Washington would unfreeze funds frozen in Libya for a decade. A White House spokesperson later denied this, stating it "makes no sense" and "has not been discussed." Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority (PA) already branded it "unacceptable" from Moscow.

What the Plan Entails and the Cost of Moving 1 Million People

The devil is in the details. The total cost and who would pay have not been leaked. Logistics, according to the network, require more than 1,100 flights using the largest current passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380. Gaza has no airport, so people would first need to be transported to a regional airfield. If Israel does not allow transit through its territory, the nearest airport is Cairo. By road, this is about 1,800 kilometers, and vehicles have less capacity than planes. By ferry, hundreds of trips would be needed. Incentives for displaced persons would include a free house.

Why No Arab Country Wants to Receive Them

This rejection is not new. Trump previously spoke of "clearing" Gaza and considered relocating its population to Jordan or Egypt, sparking outrage and opposition in both countries. Arab states have been critical of permanently relocating Palestinians. Libya’s status as a destroyed and divided state after years of conflict adds to the reluctance. Critics argue that dumping this burden on a country with no institutional capacity solves nothing and shifts the problem to the central Mediterranean, just a step from Italy.

The Historical Precedent No One Wants to Name

The most cited parallel is the Nancy plan to resettle European Jews in Madagascar. Different actors, different scenario, same logic of moving entire populations by decree. Others look further back: the expulsion of Moriscos from Spain, 350,000 people toward the Maghreb. The comparison serves to remind us that mass transfers rarely end well for those who suffer them, and almost never for those who execute them.

The Core Issue: Gaza, the West Bank, and International Law

Beyond the headline, the plan points to a fundamental question: whether Gaza’s population can remain. The PA has flatly rejected it. The harshest criticism holds that Gaza’s inhabitants are sentenced—leave or die day by day—and that in a few years, the same modus operandi will repeat in the West Bank. While force and money remain on Israel’s side, Human Rights and International Law remain principles without real efficacy.

Who Pays and Who Decides

A detail lost in the noise: some argue the plan would be funded by US taxpayers, not Israel. The administration has previously stated that Arab countries would help rebuild Gaza after the war, but these countries have been critical of permanent relocation. The equation does not close: no one wants to put up the money, no one wants to receive the people, and the only one gaining ground is the one pushing the population out.

With these premises, the plan should be dead. It remains on the table. Someone should ask who benefits from its continued existence.