According to the Associated Press, Washington and Tel Aviv have engaged in talks with three African governments on taking in Palestinians after their removal from Gaza. President Donald Trump has called for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza.
“The contacts with Sudan, Somalia, and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland reflect the determination by the US and Israel to press ahead with a plan” to permanently remove Gazans from the Strip, the AP reported on Friday after discussions with Israeli and US officials.
Somalia and Somaliland denied the report. Abdirahman Dahir Adan, Somaliland’s Foreign Minister said, “I haven’t received such a proposal, and there are no talks with anyone regarding Palestinians.” Sudan told the AP it had rejected the US and Israeli proposal.
The AP said Trump was offering Somailand recognition of its independence in exchange for taking in Palestinians.
Trump has said that he wants to “clean out” and “take over” Gaza in order to create the “Riviera of the Middle East.” The president explained that the proposal would call for the permanent removal and resettlement of the Palestinians.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said last week that Trump’s plan is “taking shape.” He explained that if Tel Aviv expelled 10,000 Palestinians from Gaza per day, that the population would be removed in six months. Smotrich said that Tel Aviv and Washington are working on finding countries to accept the Palestinians.
After the Israeli invasions of Gaza in 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began seeking African countries to take Palestinians from Gaza. At the time, an Israeli outlet reported that Tel Aviv was in negotiations with Chad and Rwanda to take in the Palestinians.
Trump has said that his proposal calls for building cities for the Palestinians that are so nice they will not want to return to their homeland. However, Sudan is in the middle of a brutal civil war. It appears Trump tried to exploit the conflict by offering the Sudanese military security assistance for its war against the RSF.
One Sudanese official said the conversation was immediately rejected. “This suggestion was immediately rebuffed,” said one official. ”No one opened this matter again.”
Last month, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Morocco and the Somali-breakaway region Puntland were being considered as destinations to resettle Palestinians.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.
