Israel, South Sudan in talks over forced transfer of Palestinians: Report
Israel is in discussions with South Sudan about forcibly relocating Palestinians from Gaza to the East African country, according to six people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press.
The proposal is part of an Israeli effort to displace Palestinians from Gaza – a move human rights groups warn would amount to forcible expulsion and ethnic cleansing, and would violate international law.
Critics of the transfer plan fear Palestinians would never be allowed to return to Gaza, and that mass departure could pave the way for Israel to annex the enclave and re-establish illegal Israeli settlements there, as called for by far-right ministers in the Israeli government.
South Sudan has struggled to recover from a civil war that broke out shortly after independence in 2011, killing nearly 400,000 people and leaving parts of the country facing famine. It already hosts a large refugee population from conflicts in neighbouring countries.
Wtf? South Sudan needs aid, not 2 million more starving people. Plus the country is barely 14 years old with 12 million population.
Food lifeline fading for millions in South Sudan hit by conflict and climate shocks
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165458
Earlier this month, the UN agency began airdropping emergency food assistance in Upper Nile state after surging conflict forced families from their homes and pushed communities to the brink of famine.
Nationwide, the picture is just as alarming, with half the country’s population – more than 7.7 million people – officially classified as food insecure by UN partner the IPC platform. This includes more than 83,000 facing “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity.
“The scale of suffering here does not make headlines, but millions of mothers, fathers and children are spending each day fighting hunger to survive,” said WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau, following a visit to South Sudan last week.
South Sudan denies having talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza
South Sudan is not in talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza, South Sudan’s foreign ministry has said.
On Tuesday, The Associated Press news agency, citing six people with knowledge of the matter, reported that Israel was holding discussions with Juba to resettle Palestinians from Gaza in the East African nation.
“These claims are baseless and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan,” the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
Many world leaders are horrified at the idea of forcibly displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another Nakba, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.
In March, Somalia and its breakaway region of Somaliland also denied receiving any proposal from the US or Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, with Mogadishu saying it categorically rejected any such move.
