Summary
- Israel in talks with South Sudan to resettle Gazans.
- The plan aims to relocate Palestinians from war-torn Gaza.
- Palestinian leaders reject the plan as forced expulsion.
- South Sudan denies official talks on resettlement.
- Israel seeks alternative countries for Gaza population transfer.
According to the individuals, who are aware of the situation but spoke on condition of anonymity, negotiations between Israel and South Sudan are still underway and no deal has been achieved.
If the plan is implemented, it would envision people relocating from an enclave that was destroyed by nearly two years of conflict with Israel to a country in the center of Africa that has been torn apart by years of ethnic and political turmoil.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated calls this week for the voluntary evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza and stated this month that he plans to increase military control over the region.
The idea of relocating Gaza's residents to any other nation has been rejected by Arab and international authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated calls this week for the voluntary evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza and stated this month that he plans to increase military control over the region.
The idea of relocating Gaza's residents to any other nation has been rejected by Arab and international authorities. Palestinians claim that would be similar to another "Nakba" (catastrophe), similar to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, in which hundreds of thousands of people were displaced or fled.
According to the three sources, when South Sudanese Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba visited the nation last month, Israeli authorities discussed the possibility of resettling Palestinians in South Sudan.
According to their account, South Sudan's foreign ministry rejected prior reports on the proposal as "baseless" on Wednesday.
On Friday, the ministry was not immediately ready to comment on the claims made by the sources.
The Associated Press, which quoted six people with knowledge of the situation, broke the story of the talks first on Tuesday.
The Palestinian leadership and people "reject any plan or idea to displace any of our people to South Sudan or to any other place," according to Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee.
"The discussions were about foreign policy, about multilateral organisations, about the humanitarian crisis, the real humanitarian crisis happening in South Sudan, and about the war,"
she said, referring to her talks with Juba officials.
A request for comment on the information provided by the three sources on Friday was not immediately answered by Israel's foreign ministry or Netanyahu's office.
What is South Sudan's official stance on Israel's resettlement plans?
South Sudan's official stance on the reports that it is discussing resettlement plans with Israel for Palestinians from Gaza is a firm denial. The South Sudanese government, through its Foreign Ministry, stated that it "firmly refutes" recent claims suggesting it is engaged in talks with Israel regarding relocating Palestinian nationals from Gaza to South Sudan.
The ministry described the claims as baseless, not reflecting South Sudan’s official position or policy, and urged media outlets to verify information with official sources before publishing. South Sudan emphasized that it is not involved in any such negotiations with Israel concerning Palestinian resettlement.
This denial comes amid Israeli reports of ongoing discussions, but South Sudan maintains that no agreement or formal talks have taken place officially on this matter.