The US and Israel reached out to African countries on Friday to discuss the possible resettlement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in an attempt to implement a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.
The contacts with Sudan, Somalia and the breakaway region known as Somaliland reflect a determination by the US and Israel to advance a plan that has been widely condemned and has raised serious legal and moral concerns. Because all three countries are poor and in some cases plagued by violence, the proposal also calls into question Trump’s stated goal of resettling Palestinians from Gaza in a “beautiful area.”
Sudanese officials said they had rejected the US proposals, while officials in Somalia and Somaliland told US media they were unaware of any contact.
Under Trump’s plan, more than 2 million Gazans would be sent to live elsewhere permanently. The American president has proposed that the US take responsibility for the area, oversee a lengthy clean-up process and develop it as a real estate project.
The issue of mass resettlement of Palestinians was once considered a fantasy of Israeli ultranationalists, the media noted. But since Trump introduced the idea at a White House meeting last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called it a “bold vision.”
Palestinians in Gaza have rejected the proposal and dismiss Israeli claims that their withdrawal from their homeland would be voluntary. Arab countries strongly disagreed and proposed an alternative reconstruction plan that would allow Palestinians to stay put. Human rights organisations said that forcing or pressuring Palestinians to leave could be a potential war crime.
