South Sudan and Israel have reportedly held talks about a potential plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza to the East African nation, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The proposal has drawn swift condemnation from Palestinian leaders, who denounced it as forced displacement.
The discussions are said to have taken place during South Sudanese Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba’s visit to Israel last month. Sources confirmed the talks but stressed no agreement was reached. Their account contradicts South Sudan’s foreign ministry, which dismissed reports of such negotiations as “baseless.”
If pursued, the plan would involve relocating Palestinians from Gaza—ravaged by nearly two years of war—to South Sudan, a country still struggling with political instability, ethnic conflict, and severe humanitarian challenges.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long argued that Palestinians should voluntarily leave Gaza, insisting Israel will retain military control of the territory. He has acknowledged speaking with “a few countries” about potential destinations for relocation but has not identified them publicly.
For Palestinian leaders, the proposal evokes memories of the 1948 Nakba, when hundreds of thousands were displaced during the Arab-Israeli war.
“The Palestinian leadership and people reject any plan or idea to displace any of our people to South Sudan or to any other place,” said Wasel Abu Youssef of the Palestine Liberation Organization. President Mahmoud Abbas’s office echoed that rejection.
Hamas has not yet commented on the reported talks.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, who visited Juba this week, denied that relocation was discussed, saying her meetings focused on “foreign policy, multilateral organisations, the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, and the war.”
The South Sudanese foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment on Friday, while Netanyahu’s office and Israel’s foreign ministry also declined to address the reported negotiations.
The reports come at a time when Israel faces mounting criticism over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Any relocation proposal would deepen concerns among Palestinians and human rights groups that Israel seeks to engineer a new displacement, rather than pursue a political settlement.
