Israel in talks to resettle Palestinians

16/8/2025 6:31

South Sudan and Israel are

discussing a deal to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza in

the troubled African nation, three sources told Reuters - a plan

quickly dismissed as unacceptable by Palestinian leaders.



The sources, who have knowledge of the matter but spoke on

condition of anonymity, said no agreement had been reached but

talks between South Sudan and Israel were ongoing.



The plan, if carried further, would envisage people moving

from an enclave shattered by almost two years of war with Israel

to a nation in the heart of Africa riven by years of political

and ethnically-driven violence.



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and

Israel's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a

request for comment on the information from the three sources.



A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said, "we do

not speak to private diplomatic conversations," when asked about

the plan and if the United States supported the idea.



Netanyahu said this month he intends to extend military

control in Gaza, and this week repeated suggestions that

Palestinians should leave the territory voluntarily.



Arab and world leaders have rejected the idea of moving

Gaza's population to any country. Palestinians say that would be

like another "Nakba" (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands

fled or were forced out during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.



The three sources said the prospect of resettling

Palestinians in South Sudan was raised during meetings between

Israeli officials and South Sudanese Foreign Minister Monday

Semaya Kumba when he visited the country last month.



Their account appeared to contradict South Sudan's foreign

ministry which on Wednesday dismissed earlier reports on the

plan as "baseless".



The ministry was not immediately available to respond to the

sources' assertions on Friday.



News of the discussions was first reported by the Associated

Press on Tuesday, citing six people with knowledge of the

matter.



Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of

the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the Palestinian

leadership and people "reject any plan or idea to displace any

of our people to South Sudan or to any other place".



His statement echoed a statement from the office of

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday. Hamas, which is

fighting Israel in Gaza, did not immediately respond to requests

for comment.



Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, who visited

the South Sudanese capital Juba this week, told reporters that

those discussions had not focussed on relocation.



"This is not what the discussions were about," she said when

asked if any such plan had been discussed.



"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.



Netanyahu, who met Kumba last month, has said Israel is in

touch with a few countries to find a destination for

Palestinians who want to leave Gaza. He has consistently

declined to provide further details.