The situation in Gaza is unsustainable, turning the evacuation of Gazans into a humanitarian and security imperative. The resettlement of Gaza’s population in Western Sahara — a region controlled by Morocco, underdeveloped yet rich in resources, is the key to a realistic and sustainable solution to the current emergency.
Western Sahara is a vast, sparsely populated desert territory along the Atlantic Ocean, bordered by Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania. Its cities — Laayoune, Dakhla, Smara, Boujdour — are relatively small, and its population barely exceeds 600,000. The region is rich in phosphates, fisheries, solar potential, and land that, with modern technology, can sustain both agriculture and tourism. Yet today, Western Sahara is underdeveloped, underpopulated, and locked in an international dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front.
Gaza’s two million people desperately need a place to rebuild their lives. Western Sahara needs people, investment, and development. Linking these two realities could create the foundation of a lasting solution that relieves pressure in the Middle East while boosting Morocco’s role as a stabilizing power in North Africa.
Alternative destinations for Gazans are often floated, but they collapse under scrutiny.
-Egypt has consistently rejected the idea of absorbing large numbers of Gazans into Sinai, fearing destabilization and Islamist militancy.
- Jordan and Lebanon, already burdened with generations of Palestinian Arab refugees, cannot and will not accept another wave.
-The Gulf states — wealthy but demographically fragile — have no intention of importing hundreds of thousands of refugees whose political activism might upset their delicate monarchies.
-Western resettlement is even less realistic: Europe and the United States are politically unable and socially unwilling to absorb such a mass influx of past and present Hamas sympathizers.
This leaves Morocco as the most credible destination. Morocco already sees itself as a guardian of Jerusalem’s Muslim identity, through the King’s role in the Al-Quds Committee. It is also a country that has shown pragmatic flexibility: maintaining ties with the Arab world, Africa, and Israel alike. Morocco’s control of Western Sahara, though contested, is increasingly recognized internationally — not least by the United States, which in 2020 formally accepted Moroccan sovereignty there.
The benefits of absorbing Gazans into Western Sahara are considerable:
Demographic Consolidation: By resettling hundreds of thousands of Gazans in Western Sahara, Morocco would strengthen its demographic presence in the region, diminishing separatist claims by the Polisario Front. A vibrant new population would cement Moroccan control.
International Prestige: Morocco would be hailed as the savior of Palestinians, earning unparalleled respect in the world. It would become the center of a new humanitarian narrative — a kingdom that gave shelter to the dispossessed when no one else would.
Economic Development: A new Gazan workforce could turn desert into farmland, build thriving towns, and energize the fisheries and phosphate industries. They would bring vitality to a region that desperately needs human capital.
Security Assurance: Relocated to Western Sahara, Gazans would no longer be a frontline threat to Israel or a pawn in Iran’s regional strategy. Their militancy might dissolve in the new challenge of building lives for their families in a distant land. Freed from the cycle of conflict with Israel, their potential for hostility toward Jews worldwide would fade.
Israel should actively support this scenario. Since it possesses unparalleled know-how in turning deserts into productive farmland, in developing tourism infrastructure, and in harnessing solar energy, in collaboration with Morocco, Israel could export this expertise to Western Sahara. Israeli drip irrigation, desalination technology, and solar farms could provide the foundation for Gazans to thrive in their new home. Israeli firms in partnership with Moroccan enterprises could build tourist resorts along Western Sahara’s stunning Atlantic coast, creating jobs and integrating the new population into a growth economy.
This would not be charity — it would be strategic investment. By helping Morocco resettle Gazans far from Israel’s borders, Israel would reduce the existential pressure emanating from Gaza while simultaneously strengthening ties with a moderate Arab monarchy that has already normalized relations under the Abraham Accords.
The payoff would be immense. A festering conflict in the Levant would be defused by demographic relocation. Morocco would gain population, prestige, and development. Israel would see a major source of insecurity removed and a partner strengthened. The international community — from Washington to Brussels to Riyadh — would see a bold, workable plan for one of the most intractable problems of our time. And if President Trump rewarded Morocco with preferential import duties, the arrival of Gazans to Western Sahara could power a Moroccan economic miracle.
The story of Gaza is one of suffocation: two million people trapped in a narrow strip, with no prospects and no edifying narrative. Western Sahara is the opposite: vast, open, waiting for life and development. History sometimes offers improbable solutions to desperate problems. The pairing of Gaza’s people with Morocco’s southern provinces may be just such a solution — one that could replace despair with hope, and endless bloodshed with the possibility of peace and renewal.
Rafael Castro is an independent political analyst. A graduate of Yale and Hebrew University, Rafael can be reached at rafaelcastro78@gmail.com