(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) The Donald Trump administration is attempting to bribe one of the warring parties in Libya to accept 1 million Palestinians that Israel is attempting to cleanse from Gaza. Libya became a failed state after the US-led regime change war against longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
According to NBC News, multiple US officials confirmed that the Trump administration was in negotiations with one of Libya’s competing governments. “In exchange for the resettling of Palestinians, the administration would potentially release to Libya billions of dollars of funds that the U.S. froze more than a decade ago,” the report explains.
The NBC News report did not specify if the US was talking with the Tripoli-based government led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, or the eastern government led by Khalifa Haftar. Libya has been in a state of civil war since the US-backed jihadist-linked rebels overthrew and murdered Gaddafi in 2011.
Fighting has erupted in the areas around Tripoli in recent weeks. Both Libyan governments are accused of serious human rights abuses, and the State Department directs Americans not to travel to the North African state “due to crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict.”
NBC News noted that representatives from the US, Israel, Dbeibah, and Haftar did not respond to requests for comment.
The report comes as both Netanyahu and Trump have discussed proposals for the massive displacement of Palestinians in recent days. On Friday, the American leader said, “I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good: Make it a freedom zone. Let the United States get involved, and make it just a freedom zone.”
He added, “I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone, let some good things happen. Put people in homes where they can be safe, and Hamas is going to have to be dealt with.”
Trump floated a similar proposal earlier in his administration. At the time, he said the Palestinians would be removed from the Strip and sent to live in refugee cities in third countries.
Discussing the war in Gaza earlier in the week, Netanyahu said Israel was prepared to force about 1 million Palestinians to leave Gaza, but was still seeking a country willing to take the refugees. “But there is one problem, we need countries to receive them,” he continued. “This is what we are working on right now. If you give them an exit, I am telling you that more than 50 percent will leave, in my opinion, much more.”
He also told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, “We are destroying more and more homes, and Gazans have nowhere to return to. The only inevitable outcome will be the wish of Gazans to emigrate outside of the Gaza Strip.”
Throughout the war in Gaza, Tel Aviv and Washington have reached out to a number of states to take Palestinians that Israel has cleansed from Gaza. Many of those states face numerous internal issues or active civil wars, such as Somalia, Sudan, Congo, Chad, and Syria.
NBC News noted that the talks between Washington and Damascus about accepting Palestinians forced from Gaza were ongoing.
On Thursday, Trump met with the new Syrian leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who now goes by Ahmed al-Shara. Jolani is a veteran of al-Qaeda in Iraq and founded the Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate. Since taking power, Jolani’s government has engaged in mass killings of Syrian minority sects.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
