1969 Paraguay plan
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The Paraguay Plan, also known as the Paraguay Scheme,[1] was a plan conducted by the Israeli government led by Golda Meir with the intention to encourage the emigration of up to 60,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Paraguay in the 1960s and 1970s. The plan failed with only a small percentage of the planned number making the journey.
Paraguay's motivation
At the time, Paraguay was governed by the authoritarian regime of Alfredo Stroessner, which had agreed to cooperate with the proposal in 1967. Paraguayan authorities reportedly viewed the potential migrants as desirable settlers due to the country's demand for labor and a perception that, as predominantly Muslims, they would be unlikely to sympathize with communist movements.[2]
Israel's plan
The initiative emerged in the aftermath of the Six-Day War, during which Israel occupied Gaza with a substantial Palestinian population Israel wanted to systematically remove, in addition to the Sinai peninsula, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights, and the West Bank. Under the plan, Palestinians in Gaza were enticed to move to Paraguay by "travel agencies" set up in Gaza to promote emigration to Paraguay; those who moved to Paraguay would be given a one-time lump sum of $100, while the Paraguayan government would be paid $33 per Palestinian it accepted, and after five years of residency they were to become eligible for a path to citizenship.[3][4] Israel would also pay $350,000 to cover the costs for 10,000 Palestinians, meaning the total cost to pay by Israel was $33 million.[4]
Zvi Zamir, the director of Mossad at the time, stated that Paraguay would be willing to accept "60,000 Muslim Arabs who are not communists, according to their definition" and recommended that if the Palestinians were not absorbed and assimilated in the country or caused a scandal related to the deal, Israel should accept them back.[4]
Failure of the plan
While estimates of the exact number of Palestinians sent to Paraguay due to the project vary, ranging from "a few dozen" to "thousands", it is widely agreed that the project was a failure, with the number that made the trip being only a small percent of the 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, around 30 people, the Israeli and Paraguayan governments intended to reach.[4] However, upon arrival, having been left in the country with few resources and with no guarantee of employment, they became destitute. Many of those that went had been lured in with false promises of becoming landowners and receiving further financial support, leading to additional frustration.[5][6][7][8]
Aftermath
On 4 May 1970, two armed Palestinians, Khaled Derwish Kassab and Talal al-Demasi, who were transferred from Gaza previously, stormed the Israeli embassy in Paraguay, with the goal of killing the Israeli ambassador to Paraguay at the time, Benjamin Varon. [1][9] The attack ended up killing Edna Peer, the secretary of the ambassador as well as injuring Varon. [1][9] Two years later, Kassab and al-Demasi, who turned out to be members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, were sentenced to 13 years in prison by a Paraguayan court.[9]
See also
- Israel–Paraguay relations
- Madagascar plan
- New Australia, Utopian colony in Paraguay
- Bhasan Char
References
- 1 2 3 Reiff, Ben (26 March 2026). "The Paraguay Scheme: Israel's secret plan to deport Gazans in the '70s". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
- ↑ "Paraguay had agreed in 1967 to receive 60,000 Palestinians from the West Bank". MercoPress. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ↑ Kossoff, Julian. "An Israeli plan from 1969 to resettle 60,000 Gazans in Paraguay has been uncovered in a declassified state archive". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 Harkov, Lahav (12 August 2020). "From Gaza to Paraguay? The Israeli government's 1969 transfer plans". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ↑ "Report: Israel tried to expel 60,000 Palestinians to Paraguay". Middle East Monitor. 13 August 2020. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ↑ Karam, John Tofik (2013). "On the Trail and Trial of a Palestinian Diaspora: Mapping South America in the Arab–Israeli Conflict, 1967–1972". Journal of Latin American Studies. 45 (4): 751–777. doi:10.1017/S0022216X13001156. ISSN 0022-216X. JSTOR 24544505. S2CID 145423526. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ↑ "Israel planned to pay Palestinians to move to Paraguay after 1967 war: report". The New Arab. 12 August 2020. Archived from the original on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ↑ Mandhai, Sheikh (13 August 2020). "Israel planned to transfer Palestinians to Paraguay in late 60s". TRT World. Archived from the original on 24 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 Tarnopolsky, Noga (13 August 2020). "Unclassified Docs Show Israel's Secret Plan to Ship 60K Palestinians to Latin America". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 29 March 2026.