Israel in talks to resettle Palestinians in South Sudan
Three sources, who have knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters no agreement had been reached but talks between South Sudan and Israel were ongoing.
The plan, if carried further, would envisage people moving from an enclave shattered by almost two years of war with Israel to a nation in the heart of Africa riven by years of political and ethnically-driven violence.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and Israel's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the information from the three sources.
A spokesperson for the US State Department said, "we do not speak to private diplomatic conversations," when asked about the plan and if the United States supported the idea.
Netanyahu said this month he intends to extend military control in Gaza, and this week repeated suggestions that Palestinians should leave the territory voluntarily.
Arab and world leaders have rejected the idea of moving Gaza's population to any country.
Palestinians say that would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.
The three sources said the prospect of resettling Palestinians in South Sudan was raised during meetings between Israeli officials and South Sudanese Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba when he visited the country last month.
Their account appeared to contradict South Sudan's foreign ministry, which on Wednesday dismissed earlier reports on the plan as "baseless".
The ministry was not immediately available to respond to the sources' assertions on Friday.
News of the discussions was first reported by the Associated Press on Tuesday, citing six people with knowledge of the matter.
Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said the Palestinian leadership and people "reject any plan or idea to displace any of our people to South Sudan or to any other place".
His statement echoed a statement from the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.
Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, who visited the South Sudanese capital Juba this week, told reporters that those discussions had not focused on relocation.
"This is not what the discussions were about," she said when asked if any such plan had been discussed.
"The discussions were about foreign policy, about multilateral organisations, about the humanitarian crisis, the real humanitarian crisis happening in South Sudan, and about the war," she said, referring to her talks with Juba officials.
Netanyahu, who met Kumba last month, has said Israel is in touch with a few countries to find a destination for Palestinians who want to leave Gaza.
He has consistently declined to provide further details.
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Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
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The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
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Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Inflammatory, divisive, disrespectful': Bendigo Writers Festival founder speaks out
As such, it had given author Randa Abdel-Fattah, an Australian woman of Palestinian and Egyptian heritage, little choice, said Sorensen. 'She could do nothing other than withdraw,' she said. 'She has been subject to relentless, ruthless, unscrupulous attacks for years … other writers withdrawing in protest was absolutely the right thing to do.' Sorensen left the festival – which was always a council-funded event under her direction – in 2023, having intended to bow out earlier before the COVID-19 pandemic intervened. She was instrumental in seeking the involvement of La Trobe University academic Clare Wright as co-curator of the La Trobe Presents stream of the program, a move, she says, 'of which I'm proud'. Wright also withdrew from this year's event over the code of conduct issued to participants the day before the event began. The wording of the directive is taken from the Universities Australia statement on racism, to which La Trobe is a signatory. That definition has come in for criticism over its close alignment with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's 'working definition of antisemitism ', which some critics allege conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. The Universities Australia statement states: 'Criticism of the policies and practices of the Israeli government or state is not in and of itself antisemitic. However, criticism of Israel can be antisemitic … when it calls for the elimination of the State of Israel or all Jews or when it holds Jewish individuals or communities responsible for Israel's actions.' Loading The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's position is that 'manifestations [of antisemitism] might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic'. 'Of course, it was about Gaza,' Sorensen said of the code of conduct. 'And I'd have thought such a directive is antithetical not just to a writers festival or a university but to a government and the society it is there to protect.' Though this year's event had turned into a disaster, it need not be the end for the Bendigo Writers Festival, its founder insisted. 'If there's an honest appraisal, an owning of this calamity, then I think writers will support it, too,' she said. Moves in Bendigo and elsewhere to curtail speech in the name of 'respectful debate', as festival organisers put it, were unnecessary and counter-productive, argued Sorensen. 'We have guard rails already,' she said. 'Governments at all levels, and cultural organisations at all levels, responding before the fact is not a guard rail. It's an authoritarian abuse of power and very dangerous for a healthy functioning democracy.' La Trobe University has defended its stance, stating that it was committed to fostering a culture that valued all forms of diversity. Loading 'La Trobe University does not tolerate racism of any kind, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. La Trobe's commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech is consistent with our approach to creating safe environments for the free exchange of ideas,' a spokesperson said. 'Our Anti-Racism Action Plan, which includes a working definition of Islamophobia, was developed through extensive staff, student and community consultation.'
