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Israel is in talks to send Gazans to South Sudan: NYT

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 August 2025 6:53 PM

Israel is currently engaged in negotiations with war-torn South Sudan regarding the forced transfer of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, according to a report by The New York Times.

The talks between Israel and South Sudan, as five sources familiar with the matter told The Times, have not yet yielded a breakthrough, the American daily newspaperreported on Tuesday.

The report said the discussions are of mutual interest to both sides, adding that Israeli officials aim for as many Palestinians as possible to depart from Gaza, while South Sudan seeks to gain favor with US President Donald Trump.

Israeli officials are referring to the potential relocation as "voluntary migration," allowing Palestinians who desire to leave to do so freely, the report said.

South Sudan has publicly denied any involvement in the scheme.

However, senior South Sudanese officials have privately discussed the contentious possibility with Israeli officials, according to three Middle Eastern officials and one South Sudanese official who were briefed on the talks, as well as a lobbyist for the South Sudanese government.

Joseph Szlavik, the founder of a lobbying firm working with the government of South Sudan, mentioned that South Sudan is considering the proposal, but its officials have concerns about potentially shouldering the financial burden of caring for a large number of Palestinian refugees.

On the South Sudanese side, Monday Semaya K. Kumba, the country's foreign minister, has engaged in discussions with Israeli officials on the subject, as confirmed by Middle Eastern and South Sudanese officials.

Meanwhile, Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, has criticized the plan, highlighting that the ongoing forced displacement of people is not voluntary, despite any claims to the contrary.

"There's nothing voluntary when you're making Gaza unlivable, when you are destroying the civilian infrastructure that is necessary for civilian life," he said. "Continuing to force people out is not voluntary."

The reports of the possible resettlement of Palestinians in South Sudan have also led to a backlash in the African country.

Edmund Yakani, the executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, a South Sudanese rights group, expressed concerns about how the resettlement undermines the political faith, position, and identity of Palestinians in their pursuit of having their own state.

Yakani also emphasized the importance of not using the issue of Palestinians as negotiating chips to improve foreign relations, stating that the government should not overlook the ethical implications, even in the face of urgent international help needed by South Sudan.

According to Yakani, supporting the resettlement of Palestinians in South Sudan is viewed as ethnic cleansing, a stance that reflects the seriousness of the situation.

The news of the talks between the Tel Aviv regime and Juba on a proposal to forcibly relocate Palestinians from war-torn Gaza to South Sudan was initially reported by The Associated Press

South Sudan has denied holding talks with Israel over the possible resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza, calling such reports "baseless" and not representative of the government's position.

However, according to the latest report by the New York Times, South Sudan is collaborating with Israel in the hopes of seeking assistance from Israeli officials to advocate for the lifting of a visa ban imposed by the Trump administration on its citizens.

Additionally, South Sudan aims to address the removal of an arms embargo and sanctions against Benjamin Bol Mel, who is widely regarded as the potential future leader of the country.

Reports indicate that Israel has also explored resettlement plans with other African countries, including Sudan and Somalia, as part of its broader strategy.

The plans have faced widespread condemnation, with Palestinians, human rights organizations, and numerous world leaders denouncing them as a veiled attempt at mass expulsion that would breach international legal standards.

Even Palestinians seeking temporary refuge would be reluctant to move to South Sudan, considered one of the world's most unstable nations.

South Sudan has struggled to recover from a civil war that broke out after independence, and which killed nearly 400,000 people and plunged pockets of the country into famine.