Nairobi (Reuters) – Three informed sources told Reuters that South Sudan and Israel are discussing an agreement to transfer Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza Strip to the troubled African country, a plan that Palestinian leaders quickly rejected and described as unacceptable.
The sources, who declined to be identified, said no agreement has been finalized yet, but talks between South Sudan and Israel are ongoing.
The plan, if implemented, envisions relocating residents from the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by an ongoing war with Israel for nearly two years, to South Sudan, a country that has been plagued by political and ethnic violence for years.
Neither the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor the Israeli Foreign Ministry has responded yet to requests for comment on what the three sources revealed.
In response to a question about the Israeli plan and whether the United States supports it, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said, “We do not comment on private diplomatic discussions.”
This month, Netanyahu expressed his intention to expand military control in Gaza and reiterated this week his statement that Palestinians should leave the Strip voluntarily.
World leaders, especially those of Arab countries, reject the idea of relocating Gaza’s population to any other country. Palestinians say it would be another “Nakba.” The term “Nakba” refers to the catastrophe of 1948 when hundreds of thousands were displaced or fled during the Arab-Israeli war.
The three sources said the idea of resettling Palestinians in South Sudan was raised during meetings between Israeli officials and South Sudan’s Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba during his visit to Israel last month.
This account appears to contradict the statement made by South Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, which on Wednesday denied earlier reports about the plan and described them as “unfounded.”
The ministry did not respond to requests for comment on what the three sources confirmed on Friday.
The Associated Press was the first to report on these talks on Tuesday, citing six informed sources.
Wasil Abu Yusuf, a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, said the Palestinian leadership and people “reject any plans or ideas for the displacement of Palestinians to anywhere, whether South Sudan or elsewhere.”
He added, “The solution must be to stop the Israeli war of extermination and starvation against our people, end the occupation, and halt the settlements, not to displace Palestinians from their lands.”
These remarks are similar to a statement issued on Thursday by the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas, the Palestinian resistance movement fighting Israel in Gaza, has not responded to requests for comment so far.
Sharren Haskel, the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister who visited the capital, Juba, this week, told journalists that the discussions did not focus on the issue of resettlement.
Asked whether any such plan had been proposed, Haskel said, “That is not what the discussions were about.”
She added, “The talks (with officials in Juba) addressed foreign policy, multilateral organizations, the real humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, and the war.”
Netanyahu met with Kumba last month and confirmed that Israel is in contact with several countries to find a destination for Palestinians wishing to leave Gaza. Netanyahu consistently refuses to provide further details.
