Egypt is opposed to the transfer plans of Palestinians out of Gaza, with whom it shares a border, fearing a flow of refugees to their own territory
Israel is in negotiations with South Sudan about the possibility of sending Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the War -devastated African country as part of a broader Israeli government effort to facilitate mass emigration from the territory left by its 22 -month offensive against Hamas.
Six people familiar with the subject confirmed negotiations to the Associated Press news agency. It is unclear to what extent negotiations have advanced, but to be confirmed, plans may include the transfer of inhabitants of one land devastated by war and hunger to another under the same conditions, which would raise concerns about human rights.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants to realize the vision of US President Donald Trump to resolve much of Gaza’s population through what he designates for “voluntary migration.” Israel presented proposals for resolving similar to other African countries.
“I think the right thing to do, even according to the laws of war as I know them, is to allow the population to leave and then attack the enemy that remains there with all the force,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday, in an interview with I24, an Israeli television station, where he did not refer to South Sudan.
Palestinians, like various human rights organizations and much of the international community have rejected the plan, accusing him of promoting forced expulsion in a violation of international law.
For South Sudan, any agreement in this regard could help you build narrower ties with Israel, which is now the almost undisputed military power in the Middle East. It is also a potential gateway to Trump, which addressed the idea of breaking the population of Gaza last February, but seems to have retreated in recent months.
The office of Israel’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sharren Haskel, reported that the minister was arriving in South Sudan for meetings, in what will be the first visit of a senior Israel employee to the country, noting, however, that the matter is not on the agenda of the visit.
In a statement, the South Sudan Foreign Ministry considered the news that he would be discussing with Israel the resettlement of Palestinians.
A US State Department spokesman refused to comment on private diplomatic conversations.
Egypt is opposed to the resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza
Joe Szlavik, founder of an American lobby company that works with South Sudan, was informed of negotiations through the South-Sudanese authorities. According to the businessman, an Israeli delegation plans to visit the country to analyze the possibility of creating fields for Palestinians in the territory. There is no date yet to visit.
Szlavik has suggested that Israel will probably pay for the makeshift fields.
Edmund Yakani, who leads a South Sudan civil society group, also talked to South Sudanese authorities about negotiations. Four other employees, who spoke to Associated Press on anonymity condition, confirmed that there are ongoing negotiations.
Two of the employees, both from Egypt, revealed that they have known Israel’s efforts for months to find a country that accepts the Palestinians, including the negotiations with South Sudan. Employees said they have pressed South Sudan not to accept the Palestinians.
Egypt is vehemently opposed to Palestinian transfer plans out of Gaza, with whom it shares a border, fearing a flow of refugees to their own territory.
AP had already reported similar negotiations started by Israel and the US with Sudan and Somalia, countries that also face war and hunger, and the separatist region of Somalia known as Somaliland.
“South Sudan, with a lack of money, needs any ally”
Szlavik, who was hired by South Sudan to improve his relations with the United States, indicated that the US is aware of discussions with Israel, but are not directly involved.
According to Szlavik, South Sudan wants the Trump administration to raise the prohibition of trips to the country and eliminate the sanctions imposed on some south-southern elites.
The country has already accepted eight individuals involved in the mass deportations of the administration in an attempt to gain favors.
Trump administration has pressured several countries to help facilitate deportations.
“South Sudan, with financial difficulties, needs all the allies, financial gains and diplomatic security to achieve,” said Peter Martell, journalist and author of the book on the country, entitled “First Raise a Flag.”
According to Martell, the Israeli espionage agency Mossad provided help to South Sudan during the Civil War against the Arabs dominated by the Arabs, before independence in 2011.
The State Department, asked if there was any counterpart with South Sudan, said that decisions on the issuance of visas are made “to priority to the maintenance of the highest US National Security standards, public safety and application of immigration laws.”
From a hunger conflict zone to another
Many Palestinians may want to leave Gaza, at least temporarily, to escape war and hunger. But they categorically reject any permanent resolvance outside what they consider an integral part of their national homeland.
The Palestinians fear that Israel never allows them to return to their home and that a mass match allows the attachment of Gaza and to restore Jewish colonates in the territory, as suggested by the Israeli government’s far-right ministers.
Still, even the Palestinians who want to leave, they probably don’t want to risk going to South Sudan, one of the most unstable and conflicting countries in the world.
South Sudan has struggled to recover from a civil war that broke out after independence, which killed nearly 400,000 people and plunged parts of the country with hunger. The rich oil country is plagued by corruption and depends on the international aid to feed its 11 million inhabitants – a challenge that has only grown since Trump administration has made drastic cuts in foreign aid.
The peace agreement reached seven years ago has been fragile and incomplete, and the threat of war returned when the main opposition leader was placed in house arrest this year.
Palestinians, in particular, may not be welcome. The long war for Sudan independence opposed the south, predominantly Christian and animist, to the north, predominantly Arab and Muslim.
According to Yakani of the civil society group, the South-Sudanese need to know who is coming and how long they plan to stay, otherwise hostilities may arise due to “historical issues with Muslims and Arabs.”
“South Sudan should not become a deposit of people,” he argues. “And you should not accept receiving people as a bargaining chip to improve relationships.”
