On Monday, the Indonesian government said that it was unaware of any plan to temporarily relocate Palestinians living in Gaza to Indonesia after NBC News reported the Trump administration was considering the idea.
The NBC report cited a Trump official who said there were discussions about relocating Palestinians during the reconstruction of Gaza and said Indonesia was “among the locations under discussion for where some of them could go.”
In response to the report, Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said it was the first time they heard about the idea. “The Indonesian government has never received any information regarding this,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Roy Soemirat.
Palestinians in Gaza would likely be hesitant to leave since they would fear that Israel might not let them return. Many members of the Israeli government and the Knesset are openly in favor of expelling Palestinians from Gaza to pave the way for Jewish settlements.
Former Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who just quit the government over the ceasefire deal, said last month that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “open” to the idea of ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
“I am working hard to promote the encouragement of migration from Gaza with the prime minister, and I am beginning to discover some openness on the matter,” Ben Gvir said.
While Ben Gvir has quit the government, his ally, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, remains and is putting pressure on Netanyahu to restart the genocidal war after the first phase of the ceasefire deal and totally take over Gaza.
