Reuters quoted several sources as saying on August 16 that Israel and South Sudan are negotiating the possibility of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the African country. However, no formal agreement has been reached, while the Palestinian leadership has denied the plan.
Sources said the resettlement issue was raised during a meeting between Israeli officials and South Sudan Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba during a recent visit to Israel. In contrast, the South Sudan Foreign Ministry called the information about the plan "unfounded" and declined to comment further.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the Israeli Foreign Ministry did not respond to the information released by Reuters. The US State Department spokesperson also declined to confirm, citing the principle of not commenting on closed diplomatic dialogues.
Mr. Netanyahu this month said Israel would expand military control in Gaza and repeatedly called on Palestinians to "voluntarily" leave. He also said Israel is in contact with several countries to find a destination for Gazans who want to leave the territory, but did not disclose details.
The Palestinian leader said that any plan to relocate the people of Gaza would mean a new "disaster", recalling memories of the "Nakba" event in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had to flee their homes in the Arabian-Israel conflict. Mr. Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), emphasized that "we reject any plans to relocate our people to South Sudan or anywhere else". The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also issued a similar statement.
Meanwhile, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, during his visit to South Sudan's capital Juba, said the discussions did not focus on the relocation of Palestinians. She said the two sides discussed foreign policy, multilateral organizations, the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan and the conflict situation.
The plan continues to be controversial as many Arabian and international leaders have expressed their opposition to the forced move of Gaza residents to other countries.
