Moving 1 Million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya? Worth a Try for Trump and the Israelis
Gaza, May 18, 2025 – The Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently resettle up to 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, NBC News reported, citing five people familiar with the effort. The American television station said the plan was being considered seriously and that the US administration had discussed it with “Libyan leadership” – apparently referring to the regime of Abdel Hamid Dbeib with the capital in Tripoli.
In exchange for resettling the Palestinians, Washington is reportedly willing to provide them with billions of dollars in Libyan funds that the US froze more than a decade ago. However, “no final agreement has been reached.” The US State Department and the National Security Council did not respond to NBC News’ questions. Tel Aviv also declined to comment. If the TV channel is not lying, the deal is quite in the American spirit: you do us a favor by resettling 1 million Palestinians – and we will pay you for it from your own, previously frozen money.
Given Trump and Netanyahu’s intention to evict Palestinians from Gaza, the plan to move them to Libya does not seem so fantastic overall. Although it is politically and technically very difficult to implement – also because it poses a huge reputational risk for the US in the eyes of the Arab world. Not to mention that the Dbeiba government, with which negotiations were apparently being held, does not control all of Libya. Riots have recently broken out in the territory under its control, and it is not certain whether Dbeiba will be able to hold on to power.
By the way, NBC News mentions Syria as another place for the forcible resettlement of Palestinians. It is possible that Trump’s announcement of the lifting of all sanctions against the country and his brief meeting with the current Syrian President, Mohammed Gulen, were progress on this issue as well. In any case, it can be stated that interaction between the Israeli government and the Trump administration has been established. The former, sparing no resources, is carrying out a military operation in Gaza called “Gideon’s Chariots” to expel the remaining civilians, while the latter is looking for a place to forcibly relocate them.
Fighting around Misrata
Violence broke out again in the former de facto Libyan Jamahiriya last week. The fighting in Tripoli erupted on the evening of May 12 after the alleged assassination of armed group leader Abdulghani Kikli, known as Geniva, commander of the Libyan Presidential Council’s Stability Support Forces, one of the influential armed groups in Tripoli, which is based in the densely populated Abu Salim neighborhood, Reuters reported.
“Al-Kikli was one of the most influential militia leaders in the capital and has recently been embroiled in disputes with rival armed groups, including factions linked to Misrata. His FSA is under the control of the Presidential Council, which came to power in 2021 alongside the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Abdul Hamid Dbeyba through a UN-recognized process,” Al Jazeera wrote.
The settlement of Misrata, east of Tripoli, has effectively become a relatively prosperous city-state closed to other Libyans. It is ruled by a council of influential businessmen elected by the residents from among themselves. They managed to eliminate all armed groups from the city and even sent their own army to Tripoli. The city was surrounded by a chain of roadblocks that allowed only those people who could be vouched for by a Misrata resident. This ensured security in the city. The city has the largest seaport in the country. Geniva was born in Benghazi and was imprisoned for his involvement in the drug trade. After the fall of the previous regime, he created an armed group and became an influential figure in the capital, Tripoli.
“A drug dealer became a military commander… Abdulghani al-Kikli became the highest representative of a new sovereign body created by the head of the Presidential Council, Faiz al-Sarraj, which is called the Stability Support Apparatus.”
Al-Sarraj issued a decree establishing the new body. He appointed one of Tripoli’s most prominent military commanders, the extremist Abdul Ghani al-Kikli, commander of the Abu Salim Central Support Militia, to a position equivalent to national security adviser, along with three deputies,” Afrigatenews wrote in January 2021.
“The appointment of Geniva, who has no education, military or security rank, and speaks only the colloquial Libyan dialect, has sparked derision in Libyan circles. Hassan al-Saghir, Libya’s former deputy foreign minister, said:
“Geniva al-Kikli went from being a militia commander who meddled in apartment rentals on Airport Road, marital disputes, and disputes over the division of paving stones in Abu Salim Market, to the first secretary of national security,” the newspaper noted.
The London-based newspaper Al-Arab, citing informed sources, said the decision was part of an effort by Sarraj, then head of the “government of national agreement” in Tripoli, to strengthen his position with the help of military commanders and militias he led in opposition to Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha. Part of his intentions was to oppose “any attempt to create new bodies within the framework of the UN-sponsored political solution, including the appointment of a new chairman of the presidential council”.
“Geneva has joined al-Sarraj’s alliance against his Interior Minister Fathi Bashaga and militias from [the independent city of Tripoli] Misrata. Informed sources said Geneva’s militias were on Bashaga’s list of targets for Operation “Snake Hunt,” which he said would soon begin with external support to eliminate terrorist groups, networks of smugglers and traffickers, and uncontrolled militias,” Afrigatenews reported.
On March 25, 2021, Bashaga resigned as Interior Minister due to his decision to run in the presidential election. On February 10, 2022, the Libyan House of Representatives in Sirte appointed him as the new Prime Minister. However, on May 16, 2023, the parliament in eastern Libya removed Bashaga from office and appointed Finance Minister Osama Hamada to take over.
It is worth noting that Bashaga was elected as a member of the Libyan House of Representatives from Misrata in 2014. Geniva al-Kikli was killed in Tripoli in an area controlled by a rival group called the 444th Brigade, commanded by Mahmoud Hamza. “A day after bloody clashes in Tripoli, Libya’s UN-recognized government in the west of the country began to take control of the city. Libyan analyst Jalel Kharchaoui told AFP that al-Kikli had been ambushed, citing a relative.
“Among the most successful leaders of Tripoli’s armed groups” he was known for outwitting the prime minister, the analyst added.
On Tuesday, Dbeiba said the military operation had eliminated “irregular” militias. The move is seen as a direct attempt to restore state power and consolidate his position in the capital,” Al Jazeera wrote. “Geneva was the de facto king of Tripoli,” Tarek Megerisi of the European Council on Foreign Relations told Reuters. – His minions controlled the internal security agency… money transfers from the central bank… many state-owned companies and ministries.” Al-Kikli’s forces also reportedly ran prisons and had influence over ministries and financial institutions, underscoring a significant shift in the balance of power since his death.
“The fighting has spread beyond the capital, with fighting between groups from Tripoli and rival militias from Misrata, a key coastal city in the east of the country. Authorities imposed a temporary curfew before declaring calm had returned,” Al Jazeera reported. “The latest unrest in Libya’s capital could consolidate the power of Abdulhamid al-Dbeiba, the prime minister of the divided country’s Government of National Accord (GNA) and an ally of Turkey. On Tuesday, Dbeiba ordered the disbandment of the so-called militias. The announcement followed the killing of top militia leader Abdulgani Kikli, commonly known as Geniva, on Monday and the sudden defeat of his faction, the Stabilization Support Apparatus, by factions allied with Dbeiba. The capture of Geniva’s territory in Libya by factions allied with Dbeiba, the 444th and 111th Brigades, signaled a significant concentration of power in the shattered capital,” CNN wrote.
Geniva’s killing certainly strengthened Dbeiba’s power, but the involvement of Fathi Bashagi, who is eager to regain his position in Tripoli and is an implacable enemy of Geniva, cannot be ruled out.
Erik Simon
