Talks between Israel and South Sudan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza are reportedly underway
Israel reportedly talked about sending Palestinians to South Sudan, but Palestinian authorities condemn the plan as being a form of forced relocation.
Three people with knowledge of the situation say that Israel and South Sudan have discussed a potential plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to the East African country.
Palestinian leaders instantly denounced the notion as outrageous and equivalent to forced relocation once it was initially published.
While confirming that discussions took place during South Sudanese Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba’s travel to Israel last month, newsmen speaking on condition of anonymity indicated no agreement had been reached. Their statement runs counter to that of South Sudan’s foreign ministry, which previously called rumors of such a scheme “baseless.”
If the plan is implemented, Palestinians would be relocated from Gaza, which has been ravaged by Israel’s war for almost two years, to South Sudan, which is still dealing with years of political unrest, ethnic strife, and humanitarian disasters.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, has stated time and time again that Israel will continue to maintain military control over Gaza and that Palestinians should leave the region freely. Although he hasn’t mentioned them, he has admitted talks with “a few countries” to identify potential relocation options.
However, Palestinian officials view any relocation attempt as an attempt to replicate the “Nakba,” which occurred during the Arab-Israeli war in 1948 and resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Wasel Abu Youssef, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, stated, “The Palestinian leadership and people reject any plan or idea to displace any of our people to South Sudan or to any other place.” The administration of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his comments.
Regarding the purported discussions, Hamas has not responded. During her visit to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, this week, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel claimed that the topic of her meetings was relocation. She claimed that rather than the migration of Palestinians, the talks focused on “foreign policy, multilateral organizations, the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, and the war.”
On Friday, there was no quick response from the South Sudanese foreign ministry. In addition, Israel’s foreign ministry and Netanyahu’s administration chose not to comment on the alleged talks.
