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Israel is in ongoing discussions with South Sudan and several other countries about resettling Palestinians from war-torn Gaza, according to sources familiar with the talks, though Palestinian leaders have dismissed such plans as unacceptable.
Three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Saturday that while no agreement has been reached, talks between South Sudan and Israel continue regarding potential resettlement.
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said, "We do not speak to private diplomatic conversations," when asked about the plan and whether the United States supported the idea.
The discussions gained prominence when President Trump earlier this year suggested the U.S. should take over Gaza and redevelop it as an international tourist destination while relocating many of its 2 million residents.
"President Trump has long advocated for creative solutions to improve the lives of Palestinians, including allowing them to resettle in a new, beautiful location while Gaza rebuilds," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
"However, Hamas must first agree to disarm and end this war, and we have no additional details to provide at this time," she noted.
Israeli officials have approached counterparts in half a dozen countries and territories, including Libya, South Sudan, Somaliland, and Syria, about accepting Palestinians who agree to leave Gaza, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the Wall Street Journal.
Israel and the U.S. have also been pressing Egypt to resettle people from Gaza in the Sinai Peninsula.
The pressure on Egypt has led to contentious meetings, including shouting matches between Israeli and Egyptian officials, some sources said.
Egypt, which once controlled Gaza, has strongly resisted the idea despite it being viewed as logistically attractive due to its border with the enclave.
Arab and world leaders have rejected the idea of moving Gaza's population to any country.
Palestinian leaders have categorically rejected any resettlement plans.
Palestinians describe such plans as another "Nakba" (catastrophe), referencing when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.
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 Israel last month, the three sources said.
This account contradicts South Sudan's foreign ministry, which dismissed earlier reports as "baseless."
News of the discussions was first reported by the Associated Press in March, citing six people with knowledge of the matter.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, who visited the South Sudanese capital Juba this week, denied that the discussions focused on relocation. "This is not what the discussions were about," she said.
"The discussions were about foreign policy, about multilateral organizations, about the humanitarian crisis, the real humanitarian crisis happening in South Sudan, and about the war," she added.
Earlier talks to settle Palestinians in Syria or Somaliland made little progress, according to one source speaking to WSJ. However, Israel's talks to resettle Gazans in South Sudan and Libya are continuing, some sources added.
Legal organizations, humanitarian groups, and some governments have questioned whether exits would be truly voluntary.
Malaysia, the United Nations, and Human Rights Watch have warned that the idea could constitute ethnic cleansing.
Forcible displacement is a crime under the Geneva Conventions, to which Israel is party, and is permissible only in narrow circumstances such as temporary evacuation for civilian safety or military "necessity."
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