The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) modelled plans to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Somalia and Somaliland, on behalf of Israeli businessmen looking to redevelop the enclave.
People familiar with the work told the Financial Times that the two African states were included among a range of countries that the Palestinians could be deported to.
The list also included Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
The modelling grew out of BCG’s work helping to set up the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been widely criticised for the enormous number of people killed at its aid delivery sites.
The post-war modelling, when reported, provoked an outcry and the consulting firm publicly disavowed the work, stating that the partner in charge had been told not to do it.
Relocation plans were based on media reports suggesting Israeli and US officials had held discussions with East African leaders about taking in Palestinian deportees, in return for perks such as their recognition of the breakaway Somaliland as an independent state.
The threat of relocation, which US President Donald Trump has said will allow the redevelopment of the Gaza Strip, has been branded ethnic cleansing by rights groups, international bodies and foreign officials.
“By accepting the Gazans who relocate temporarily and voluntarily, a country will get an injection of population that will have an economic benefit that clearly could be significant,” one person familiar with the work told the FT.
“But the countries in the model were not picked based on a knowledge of specific discussions. The idea was to understand the economic issues related to options that President Trump had put on the table.”
A slide deck associated with the plan reportedly envisaged that 25 percent of Palestinians in Gaza would decide to relocate outside the enclave, with a majority not returning.
BCG projected $4.7bn in economic benefits for countries that took in Palestinians during the first four years.
It was reported that BCG – which counts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu among its alumni – became involved with GHF when the US security contractor Orbis engaged the firm to help with a feasibility study for a new aid operation.
BCG was reportedly chosen because of its relationship with Phil Reilly, an ex-CIA officer who works at Orbis. As Middle East Eye first reported, Reilly was a senior adviser to BCG for eight years, until six months ago, when he started Safe Reach Solutions, a for-profit security and logistics company guarding GHF’s aid hubs in Gaza.
The FT has also reported that staff members from the Tony Blair Institute participated in a post-war Gaza project which included plans for a “Trump Riviera” and used financial models developed by BCG.
Source: Middle East Eye
