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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South Sudan: UNSC Briefing and Consultations

THE security situation has remained tense since clashes erupted in March. 

The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) has continued operations, including ground offensive and aerial bombardments against opposition-held areas and other armed groups, including in the Greater Upper Nile and Greater Equatoria regions. 

The ceasefire agreed to in the revitalised agreement has effectively collapsed, with force unification stalled amid ongoing SSPDF offensives, as well as defections to and recruitment by the SSPDF. 

Intercommunal violence has further aggravated insecurity, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties in the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region, according to the Secretary-General’s report.

At Monday’s meeting, several Council members are expected to raise the country’s dire humanitarian situation, including rising food insecurity. 

These challenges have been compounded by flooding and a collapsing healthcare system amid a severe cholera outbreak. 

The country also continues to grapple with the adverse humanitarian, security, and economic effects of the ongoing fighting in Sudan and the resulting influx of refugees and South Sudanese returnees.

Impediments to humanitarian access, including attacks on humanitarian workers and looting of humanitarian assets, are another matter of concern for Council members.

Read more in Security Council Report

By What's In Blue 
Dated Friday 15 August 2025

South Sudan: Briefing and Consultations

https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2025/08/south-sudan-briefing-and-consultations-28.php

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Sudan: UN Security Council will hold an open briefing followed by closed consultations on Fri 27 June 2025

Report from UN Security Council

What's In Blue 

Dated Thursday, 26 June 2025 - full copy:

Sudan: Briefing and Consultations

Tomorrow morning (27 June), the Security Council will hold an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on Sudan. 

The meeting is being held pursuant to resolution 2715 of 1 December 2023, which requested the Secretary-General to provide a briefing every 120 days on the “UN’s efforts to support Sudan on its path towards peace and stability”. 

Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee and a civil society representative are expected to brief in the open chamber. 

The chair of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Joonkook Hwang (the Republic of Korea), is expected to brief the Council on the committee’s work. 

Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan Ramtane Lamamra will brief in the closed consultations.

Pobee is likely to provide an overview of the deteriorating security situation in Sudan. 

In June, the conflict witnessed shifting front lines and intensified fighting across several regions. Fierce battles continued in the Kordofan region, as both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) sought to consolidate territorial gains, exchanging heavy drone and artillery fire on multiple fronts and inflicting significant harm on civilians.

The situation in El Fasher and other parts of North Darfur state continues to be highly volatile. El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has been under siege by the RSF since May 2024. 

In a 20 June statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk noted that, on 15 June, the RSF launched a renewed assault on the city following months of increased fighter mobilisation across Darfur, including the recruitment of children. He added that the operation aimed at capturing El Fasher, which involved a ground offensive, mirrored the RSF’s April attack on the nearby Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), which resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths, widespread sexual violence, and a humanitarian catastrophe. (For more information, see our 18 May and 12 June What’s in Blue stories.)

Pobee may also address the regional dimensions of Sudan’s conflict. 

On 10 June, the SAF accused forces aligned with General Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), of supporting RSF attacks on its positions along the tri-border area of Egypt, Libya, and Sudan—an allegation that the LNA has denied. 

After the SAF’s withdrawal from the tri-border zone on 11 June, the RSF claimed control over this strategic area, enabling it  to secure a supply line from Libya and advance towards the Nile Valley and Northern State, both of which are considered SAF strongholds. 

The conflict has also spilled into Abyei and South Sudan, escalating local tensions, displacing civilians, and worsening insecurity. 

Meanwhile, media reports indicate that the SAF has relocated warplanes to Eritrea amid increasing RSF drone strikes. (For more information, see our 18 March What’s in Blue story.)

In a 24 June press statement, Council members condemned the 20 June attack by “suspected Sudanese armed elements” on UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) peacekeepers patrolling near the Central African Republic (CAR)-Sudan border. 

The incident resulted in the death of a Zambian peacekeeper. 

In their statement, Council members expressed concern about the impact of the crisis in Sudan, particularly in border areas, including RSF incursions into the CAR’s territory and its coordination with local armed groups.

Tomorrow, the briefers and several Council members are expected to condemn the ongoing violence across Sudan and reiterate their calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 

They may also discuss the destabilising impact of the conflict in Sudan on the region, including the influx of refugees to neighbouring countries.

Speakers are likely to stress the urgent need to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare facilities, as well as medical and humanitarian personnel, while condemning the deliberate targeting of these individuals and facilities. 

Some members may also highlight broader protection concerns, including widespread conflict-related sexual violence, and emphasise the imperative of ensuring accountability for such acts. 

Some may highlight the 21 June attack on the Al-Mujlad hospital in West Kordofan, which reportedly killed more than 40 people, including six children and five healthcare workers. At the time of writing, it was unclear who was responsible for the attack.

In a separate development, the US has accused the Sudanese government of using chemical weapons in 2024, in violation of the country’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and announced on 22 May the imposition of sanctions on Sudan. The Sudanese government has denied these allegations.

Tomorrow’s meeting is also expected to take stock of recent political developments in Sudan. 

On 19 May, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the SAF’s leader, appointed Kamil Eltayeb Idris as Prime Minister. In a 20 May statement, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed hope that the appointment would serve as a first step towards inclusive consultations and the formation of a broad-based technocratic government. 

After assuming office, Idris dissolved the existing cabinet and, on 19 June, announced plans to appoint a 22-member non-partisan technocratic government. On 24 June, he named the ministers of defence and interior. 

However, the dissolution of the previous cabinet has sparked divisions among groups allied with the SAF, such as the Justice and Equality Movement, who argue that the move violates the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement, which provided for the allocation of cabinet positions and other political appointments to its signatories under a power-sharing framework.

During the closed consultations, Lamamra is expected to provide an update on ongoing regional and international initiatives to resolve the crisis in Sudan, including his engagement with Sudanese parties, consultations with key regional and international interlocutors, and efforts to coordinate various peace initiatives. 

On 2 June, the Personal Envoy held consultations in Moscow with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin, reportedly focusing on the need for coordinated international efforts to secure a ceasefire and advance an inclusive inter-Sudanese dialogue. He also spoke with Idris on 4 June—their first interaction since the prime minister’s appointment. 

As mediation efforts have yet to yield a breakthrough, Council members may wish to hear Lamamra’s assessment of recent political developments, prospects for de-escalation, and potential next steps, including the status of anticipated technical-level proximity talks. This may include strategies to enhance cooperation among stakeholders—particularly regional and sub-regional organisations—and to address the underlying challenges impeding the peace process. (For more information on recent mediation efforts, see our 18 May What’s in Blue story.)

On 3 June, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and US Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Boulos convened a meeting on the conflict in Sudan with the Quad ambassadors to the US (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). 

According to a press release issued after the meeting, Landau acknowledged that the conflict in Sudan poses a threat to shared regional interests and underscored the importance of the Quad working collectively to persuade the warring parties to cease hostilities and pursue a negotiated settlement.

Tomorrow, Lamamra is also expected to brief members on the fourth consultative meeting on enhancing coordination among the various peace initiatives on Sudan, hosted and chaired by the European Union (EU) in Brussels today (26 June). 

Several regional and international interlocutors attended the meeting, including Lamamra, the African Union (AU), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the League of Arab States (LAS), as well as representatives from Bahrain, Egypt, Mauritania, the UK, the US, and Saudi Arabia.

Sudan’s civilian space remains fragmented, as evidenced by recent exchanges between different coalitions over Lamamra’s mediation efforts. 

Media reports suggest that a group of Sudanese politicians, activists, and diplomats sent a letter to Guterres on 13 June, accusing Lamamra of failing to establish a viable peace process and of aligning closely with the SAF’s narrative, and therefore calling for his replacement. 

By contrast, a different group of Sudanese political and civil society actors has reportedly expressed support for Lamamra and cautioned against efforts to undermine the mediation process.

Tomorrow, some Council members may reiterate their call on member states to refrain from external interference in Sudan, which they believe is exacerbating conflict and instability, and to instead support mediation efforts for a durable peace. They may call for strict compliance with the 1591 Sudan sanctions regime.

The appointment of the Panel of Experts assisting the committee, whose mandate was most recently extended through resolution 2772 of 17 February, remains stalled due to holds placed by some Council members. Some members may call for the urgent resolution of this impasse to ensure effective monitoring and implementation of the sanctions regime.

View original: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2025/06/sudan-briefing-and-consultations-11.php

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