Israel in talks with Rwanda and Chad to exile Palestinians: Report

Israeli officials are in secret talks with Rwanda and Chad to exile Palestinians from Gaza, the Israeli daily Zman Yisrael reported on Friday. 

Both countries expressed a basic agreement to continue talks, reported Zman Yisrael, unlike many other countries that refused in principle.

On Wednesday, Zman Yisrael said "Congo" seems willing to accept thousands of Palestinian refugees, although it did not say whether it was referring to the Democratic Republic of the Congo or the Republic of Congo.

According to the Israeli outlet, the Israeli intelligence service Mossad and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are spearheading the initiative. 

"The business is very complex," a government source told Zman Yisrael. "We must promote this channel, but be very careful of the reactions in the world, and also of the fear that it will be interpreted as a transfer and not a voluntary migration. That's why we work with close legal advice," they added. 

In principle, the aim is to give a generous financial grant to any Palestinian who expresses a desire to leave Gaza, along with extensive aid to the receiving country, including military aid.

The Israeli government is keen to say that Palestinians are not being ethnically cleansed from Gaza, but rather that the move would be a “voluntary immigration policy".

The distinction has been scrutinised because Israeli politicians have gone on record explicitly laying out plans to make Gaza unlivable for its inhabitants and replace the population with Israeli settlers.