Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts

Saturday, August 16, 2025

Israel in talks to resettle Gaza Palestinians in South Sudan, sources say. South Sudan denies such talks

"MANY world leaders are horrified at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.


South Sudan's Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba visited Israel last month and met with Netanyahu, according to the foreign ministry in Juba.


Netanyahu said this month he intends to extend military control in Gaza, and this week repeated suggestions that Palestinians should leave the territory voluntarily.


South Sudan is not in talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza, South Sudan's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.


In March, Somalia and its breakaway region of Somaliland also denied receiving any proposal from the United States or Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, with Mogadishu saying it categorically rejected any such move.


The plan, if carried further, would envisage people moving from an enclave shattered by almost two years of war with Israel to a nation [South Sudan] in the heart of Africa riven by years of political and ethnically-driven violence."


Read full story below in three reports by respected journalists.


[NOTE from Sudan Watch Ed: This plan must not be accepted by S.Sudan. At least 25M displaced Sudanese in and around Sudan and S.Sudan struggle to stay alive. S.Sudan, one of the most dangerous countries in the world, does not have the infrastructure and security to support and protect its people] 

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Here is a report by Reuters.
Reporting by Nairobi Newsroom; additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell at the Israel-Gaza border, Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Writing by Ammu Kannampilly; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Diane Craft
Dated Saturday, 16 August 2025 - full copy:

Israel in talks to resettle Gaza Palestinians in South Sudan, sources say

Palestinians carry aid supplies they collected from trucks that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip August 10, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo 

NAIROBI, Aug 15 (Reuters) - South Sudan and Israel are discussing a deal to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza in the troubled African nation, three sources told Reuters - a plan quickly dismissed as unacceptable by Palestinian leaders.


The sources, who have knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity, said 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 [South Sudan] 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 U.S. 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 Organization, 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 focussed 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.


View original: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-talks-resettle-gaza-palestinians-south-sudan-sources-say-2025-08-15/


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Here is a report by Reuters.
Reporting by George Obulutsa; 
Editing by Ammu Kannampilly and Christina Fincher
Dated Wednesday, 13 August 2025 - full copy:

South Sudan says no talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza


Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelter in a tent camp on a beach amid summer heat in Gaza City, August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo


NAIROBI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - South Sudan is not in talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza, South Sudan's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.


On Tuesday, the Associated Press, citing six people with knowledge of the matter, reported that Israel was holding discussions with Juba to resettle Palestinians from Gaza in the East African nation.


"These claims are baseless and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan," South Sudan's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.


Israel's military has pounded Gaza City in recent days prior to its planned takeover of the shattered enclave which is home to more than 2 million Palestinians.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday reiterated a view - also enthusiastically floated by U.S. President Donald Trump - that Palestinians should simply leave Gaza.


Many world leaders are horrified at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.


In March, Somalia and its breakaway region of Somaliland also denied receiving any proposal from the United States or Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, with Mogadishu saying it categorically rejected any such move.


South Sudan's Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba visited Israel last month and met with Netanyahu, according to the foreign ministry in Juba.


Last month South Sudan's government confirmed that eight migrants deported to the African nation by the Trump administration were currently in the care of the authorities in Juba after they lost a legal battle to halt their transfer.


Since achieving independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has spent nearly half its life at war and is currently in the grip of a political crisis, after President Salva Kiir's government ordered the arrest of Vice President Riek Machar in March.


View original: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/south-sudan-says-no-talks-with-israel-resettle-palestinians-gaza-2025-08-13/

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Related story


From the Associated Press (AP)

By Sam Mednick

Associated Press reporters Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Matthew Lee in Washington, D.C. and Samy Magdy in Cairo, Egypt, contributed

Dated Tuesday, 12 August 2025 

Israel is in talks to possibly resettle Palestinians from Gaza in South Sudan


Israel is in talks with South Sudan about the possibility of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the war-torn East African country.


Displaced Palestinians walk through a makeshift camp along the beach in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)


Read full story: https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-gaza-relocation-south-sudan-15191c194cb6f972bc627a382d830edd


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Sunday, February 09, 2025

UK joins 78 nations in denouncing US sanctioning ICC

From the Government of the Netherlands

Diplomatic statement

Dated Friday, 7 February 2025 - full copy:


Joint Statement - Sanctions International Criminal Court (ICC)


This statement in support of the International Criminal Court is endorsed by the following States:


Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Jordan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, State of Palestine, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu.


We, the undersigned States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), reaffirm our continued and unwavering support for the independence, impartiality, and integrity of the ICC. The Court serves as a vital pillar of the international justice system by ensuring accountability for the most serious international crimes, and justice for victims.


Today, the Court is facing unprecedented challenges. Measures sanctioning the Court, its officials and staff, and those cooperating with it have been adopted in response to the Court carrying out its mandate in accordance with the Rome Statute.


Such measures increase the risk of impunity for the most serious crimes and threaten to erode the international rule of law, which is crucial for promoting global order and security. Moreover, sanctions could jeopardize the confidentiality of sensitive information and the safety of those involved—including victims, witnesses, and Court officials, many of whom are our nationals.


Sanctions would severely undermine all situations currently under investigation as the Court may have to close its field offices. Advancing the ICC’s vital work serves our common interest in promoting accountability, as evidenced by the support provided to the Court by both States Parties and non-States Parties.


As strong supporters of the ICC, we regret any attempts to undermine the Court’s independence, integrity and impartiality.  We are committed to ensuring the ICC’s business continuity so that the Court can continue to carry out its functions effectively and independently.


As we collectively strive to uphold international justice, we underscore the ICC’s indispensable role in ending impunity, promoting the rule of law, and fostering lasting respect for international law and human rights.


View original: https://www.government.nl/documents/diplomatic-statements/2025/02/07/joint-statement---sanctions-international-criminal-court-icc

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Related report


From The National, Scotland, UK

Dated Friday, 7 February 2025

UK joins 78 other nations in denouncing Donald Trump's ICC sanctions

“As for the UK, we support the independence of the ICC. Therefore, we’ve got no plans to sanction individual court officials.” Now, the UK has added its name to a list of 79 countries defending the ICC against Trump’s sanctions. 

Full story: https://www.thenational.scot/news/24920081.uk-joins-78-nations-denouncing-donald-trumps-icc-sanctions/


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Friday, February 07, 2025

Ex-Israeli PM: 'Gaza is not ours. Gaza is Palestinian.'

"I heard that America expect that Israel will hand over Gaza to America. We cannot do that because we don't own it: Gaza is not ours. Gaza is Palestinian." -Ehud Olmert, Former Israeli PM

Read more from BBC News Live online
By John Ringer

Reporting from Washington DC

Thursday, 06 February 2025, 23:17 GMT - full copy:

Former Israeli PM: 'Gaza is not ours. Gaza is Palestinian.'


A former Israeli prime minister has rejected Trump's proposal to "take over" Gaza, telling the BBC the plan is unworkable because the territory isn't Israel's to give away.


Ehud Olmert tells the BBC's World News America programme he'd welcome US help in reconstructing Gaza, but only if it's being rebuilt by and for Palestinians.


Olmert was a member of current Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party for over 30 years. But in 2006 he and then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon broke from the party in order to withdraw Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza.


Watch what he had to say below:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cvg4zwwez9et


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Thursday, February 06, 2025

US sanctions ICC for targeting US and allies including Israel. UK and EU should expel US from UN and NATO

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Following the inauguration of POTUS Donald Trump on Jan 20, he ordered the US to withdraw its membership of many organisations that require members to adhere to international law, humanitarian and human rights law and help provide assistance to the most vulnerable people in need. The decline of the US, its weak moral compass, hatred of foreigners and cruelty towards fellow man means that the US cannot be trusted. The UK and EU should expel US from the UN and NATO.
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Three related reports:

From BBC News online

By Bernd Debusmann Jr

BBC News, White House

Dated Thursday, 6 February 2025, 22:21 GMT - full copy:


Trump sanctions International Criminal Court, calls it 'illegitimate'


IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES

Image caption, Trump previously sanctioned ICC officials during his first term in office in 2020.


President Donald Trump has signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court, accusing it of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel".


The measure places financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.


In January, the US House of Representatives voted to sanction the ICC after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes allegations in Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.


At the time, the ICC said it "regrets any attempts to undermine the court's independence, integrity and impartiality".


The US is not a member of the ICC and has repeatedly rejected any jurisdiction by the body over American officials or citizens.


The order says that the ICC's recent actions "set a dangerous precedent" that endanger Americans by exposing them to "harassment, abuse and possible arrest".


"This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States government and our allies, including Israel," the order says.


The White House accuses the Hague-based ICC of creating a "shameful moral equivalency" between Hamas and Israel by issuing the warrants for the Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander at the same time, according to a fact sheet circulated by the White House earlier.


The White House believes the ICC is placing constraints on Israel's right to self-defence, while accusing the body of ignoring Iran and anti-Israel groups.


Trump has repeatedly criticised the ICC, and took several steps to sanction the body during his first term in office.


At the time, he also imposed sanctions on ICC officials who were investigating whether US forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.


The order allowed the US to block the assets of ICC employees and stop them from entering the US.


In response, the ICC said that the sanctions were an "unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law".


Founded in 2002 - in the wake of the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan genocide - the ICC was formed to investigate alleged atrocities.


The court can only deal with crimes committed after July 2002, when the Rome Statute - which formed the ICC - came into effect.


Over 120 countries have ratified the statute, while another 34 have signed and may ratify in the future.


Neither the US nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute. The order states that "both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war".


The ICC is a court of last resort and it is meant to intervene only when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute.



Media caption, 

Watch [Video 00:14]: Netanyahu gifts Trump a golden pager during US visit 


Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, also criticised the ICC's warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, calling the move "outrageous" and saying there was no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.


Trump's signing of the executive order comes as Netanyahu visits Washington.


In a joint press conference with the Israeli prime minister this week, Trump said the US could "take over" Gaza, which he said could become the "Riviera of the Middle East".


He again made the claim on his Truth Social social media platform.


"The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting," Trump said on Thursday.


He repeated his belief that the idea would mean resettling Palestinians, and that no American soldiers would be deployed.


His post did not make clear whether the two million residents of the Palestinian territory would be invited to return, leaving officials scrambling to explain.


On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that any displacement would be temporary, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Gazans would leave for an "interim" period while reconstruction took place.


Arab leaders, human rights organisations and the UN have condemned the idea.


International Criminal Court: What is the ICC and what does it do?


View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2p19l24g2o

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From Times Radio - Video report
Dated Thursday, 6 February 2025 
Trump's plan for Gaza 'unviable' and cannot be implemented 
"There not a chance that this is something that would be implemented soon." Trump's plan for Gaza is unfounded and simply part of 'flooding the zone' with ideas, says President of the Middle East Policy Council Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley.

 
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