BCG consultants modelled relocating Gazans to Somalia
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The US' Boston Consulting Group has secretly modelled relocating Gazans to Somalia, the UAE, and others as part of postwar plans, drawing global backlash and comparisons to ethnic cleansing.
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Israeli soldiers walk along the border of the Gaza Strip in southern occupied Palestine, on August 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Consultants from the US-based Boston Consulting Group (BCG) developed a detailed model proposing the relocation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to countries including Somalia, the breakaway region of Somaliland, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Jordan. The model was created on behalf of Israeli businessmen involved in postwar planning for Gaza.
The internal modelling work, produced in March, included a spreadsheet listing potential destination countries where hundreds of thousands of Gazans could be relocated. The model outlined scenarios in which up to 25% of Gaza’s population might opt to leave and never return.
According to sources familiar with the project, the BCG team calculated economic benefits for host countries, estimating $4.7 billion over four years in potential gains from accepting Palestinians. The relocation was framed as "temporary and voluntary," though international observers warned the scheme resembled forced displacement.
The relocation assumptions aligned with reports at the time that the US and "Israel" had approached East African nations about accepting Palestinians. Among those discussions was a preliminary conversation between US officials and Somaliland, which reportedly involved a potential US military base in exchange for recognizing Somaliland’s statehood.
US President Donald Trump had earlier said he was in talks with Egypt and Jordan about absorbing Palestinians and proposed turning Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” His administration had floated the idea of clearing Gaza’s population entirely as part of redevelopment efforts.
Sources indicated that the countries listed in the model were selected not based on confirmed negotiations but to evaluate the economic and logistical dimensions of options tied to Trump’s proposals.
Project tied to Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)
The relocation model emerged from BCG’s work on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed initiative that replaced the UN-led aid system in the occupied Gaza Strip, drawing international backlash for being associated with countless massacres targeting civilians seeking aid. The firm terminated its involvement in May following international condemnation of the GHF and the broader reconstruction plans.
BCG produced the model for a group of Israeli businessmen who were key architects of the GHF and were developing postwar economic plans. The model included cost estimates for relocation subsidies, rent and food allowances, and projections for infrastructure investments such as a rail line, port, healthcare system, and workforce development programs.
The modelling also calculated potential GDP growth, job creation, education indicators, and hospital bed availability over 10 years.
The proposed relocation plans were condemned by United Nations officials, who likened them to ethnic cleansing, and were strongly opposed by European governments and Arab states. Egypt and others expressed concern that accepting large numbers of Palestinians would lead to permanent resettlement and domestic instability.
No relocation scheme has moved forward, and several stakeholders have since distanced themselves from the proposal. BCG fired the partners responsible for the GHF and modelling work in June, citing violations of internal policy and deception toward senior leadership.
In testimony to a UK parliamentary committee, BCG stated that the partner in charge had been explicitly instructed not to engage in reconstruction-related work without the participation of the affected population. The project, according to those familiar with it, was carried out in secret and categorized as "business development." The team did not bill clients for the work.
