In a move that’s already sparking debate across international circles, the Trump administration is reportedly in the early stages of developing a plan to permanently resettle up to one million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya, according to an NBC News report released Friday.
Citing multiple sources familiar with the discussions, including two individuals with direct knowledge of the proposal and a former U.S. official, NBC revealed that the idea is not merely speculative—it has reportedly reached a point where the United States has opened conversations with Libya’s leadership about the potential mass relocation.
According to the report, the controversial proposal includes a major financial incentive: in exchange for accepting the Palestinian population, Libya would gain access to billions of dollars in frozen assets that the United States has withheld for over a decade. This transactional framework, while still under internal review, highlights how the Trump administration appears to be leveraging economic tools to address long-standing geopolitical crises.
The idea of forcibly relocating an entire population, however, is stirring alarm among policy experts, human rights advocates, and international observers. While no formal statement has been issued by the Trump administration or the Libyan government, the reported plan raises serious ethical, logistical, and political concerns—not least because it would uproot over a million people from their homeland amid an already volatile conflict in Gaza.
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Relocation proposals of this scale are exceedingly rare in the modern era and often carry a legacy of controversy. Experts have noted that any such move would require significant coordination with international bodies, including the United Nations, and would likely meet resistance from both Palestinian communities and neighboring Arab nations.
What remains unclear is how far along the plan actually is—or whether it will ever move beyond the exploratory phase. Sources familiar with the matter say internal discussions are ongoing within the administration, with no final decision yet made.
The Trump administration, now in its second term following a dramatic political comeback, has doubled down on hardline foreign policy stances, particularly in the Middle East. This latest development seems to be in line with that posture, but critics argue that it risks compounding the humanitarian crisis rather than resolving it.
For many Palestinians in Gaza, where living conditions have steadily deteriorated due to blockades, limited infrastructure, and repeated cycles of conflict, the idea of mass relocation to Libya—a country still grappling with its own instability—offers little comfort.
The implications of this proposal, if pursued, would be enormous, not just for the region but for global migration and refugee policy. As details continue to emerge, the world watches closely to see whether this idea remains a controversial footnote—or becomes a centerpiece of America’s new Middle East strategy.
