Rwanda denies talks with 'Israel' to take forcibly displaced Gazans in

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Jan 2024 08:27
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Rwanda's Foreign Ministry denies Israeli media reports regarding alleged talks with "Israel" over expelling Gazans to its territories.

A Palestinian mother and her children look out from a damaged building on Dec. 15 in Rafah, southern Gaza. (AFP via Getty Images)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Rwanda issued a statement addressing alleged discussions with "Israel" about "the transfer of Palestinians from Gaza" to its territories.

It slammed any such talks propagated by Israeli media as mere disinformation.

In a post on X, the Rwandan government categorically denied holding any such talks, refuting claims made by Zman Yisrael, an Israeli media outlet.

ALERTE À LA DÉSINFORMATION: LE RWANDA N'EST PAS EN DISCUSSION AVEC ISRAËL SUR LE TRANSFERT DE PALESTINIENS DE GAZAhttps://t.co/ISy0PisYy9 pic.twitter.com/fn2NrlHbgA
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Int'l Cooperation (@RwandaMFA) January 5, 2024

Furthermore, the statement emphasized that no discussions on this matter took place, neither recently nor in the past, and urged the public to ignore the false information.

"No such discussion has taken place either now or in the past, and the disinformation should be ignored," the statement said.

Previously, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Chad also refuted engaging in discussions with "Israel" regarding what "Israel" dubs the "transfer of Palestinians" from Gaza to their territories.

This comes shortly after recent Israeli media reports suggested that three African nations might consider taking in Palestinians forcibly displaced from Gaza.

UN alarmed by Israeli calls for forced displacement of Palestinians

Yesterday, Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed deep concern over Israeli demands to force Palestinians out of the besieged Gaza Strip. He emphasized that such calls for forced displacement violate international law.

"Very disturbed by high-level Israeli officials' statements on plans to transfer civilians from Gaza to third countries," Turk said in a post on X on Friday.

He further stressed that "international law prohibits forcible transfer of protected persons within or deportation from occupied territory."

'Act of genocide'

Turk's remarks came in response to Israeli far-right Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's recent remarks, calling for "a solution to encourage the emigration of Gaza's residents."

This sentiment has been repeatedly announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Ben-Gvir considered that establishing settlements in Gaza after forcibly displacing its residents "is a correct, just, moral and humane solution."

On this note, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, described the forcible displacement of Gazans as an “act of genocide.”

“Forcible transfer of Gazan population is an act of genocide, especially given the high number of children,” he added, cautioning other nations against participating in such actions.

“Congolese or other states’ officials will be guilty of aiding and abetting genocide if they agree to any transfer of population,” Rajagopal said on X.

Decisive stance of the Palestinian people

Since day one of the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the occupation entity's top officials publicly declared that one of the objectives was to forcefully displace its residents to other countries, most notably Jordan and Egypt.

The death toll in #Gaza is still on the rise.

The number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli aggression has risen to 22,600, in addition to 57,910 injuries, since #October7, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

In the past 24 hours alone, the Israeli occupation… pic.twitter.com/a2iIgLeTdh
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 5, 2024

This plan saw the Israeli occupation forces carry out the bloodiest aggression since WW2 on the besieged Strip, which included the killing of more than 22,600 Palestinians, most of whom are children and women, and the mass destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, and other vital infrastructure necessary for survival.

Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas commented on the Israeli Prime Minister's remarks on December 25, saying his plan to pass a "voluntary immigration" scheme for the people from the Gaza Strip is ridiculous and aims to compensate for the Israeli war failure.

"Netanyahu is trying to sell illusions to prolong the aggression after he and his army failed to achieve their goals," the party said.

"Our Palestinian people affirmed their decisive stance by rejecting deportation and displacement, and that there is no emigration and no choice but to remain steadfast on our land."

Nevertheless, every effort to execute this plan encountered the resilience of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands among them steadfastly declined to vacate the northern Strip, opting instead to stay in their homes, even in the face of the catastrophic conditions imposed by the entity and the daily ongoing massacres.