US and Israel look to Africa to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, AP says
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Palestinians passing by the rubble of destroyed houses in Gaza City on March 11.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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The US and Israel have contacted officials from Sudan, Somalia and its breakaway region of Somaliland to discuss using their territory for resettling Palestinians from Gaza, the Associated Press (AP) reported on March 14, citing US and Israeli officials.
Sudan officials said they rejected the proposal by the US, and officials from Somalia and Somaliland said they were unaware of any contacts, AP reported.
The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The information ministers for Somalia and Somaliland did not answer telephone calls by Reuters seeking comment.
The Foreign Ministry of Sudan, a country dealing with a devastating civil war that has displaced 12 million of its own people and spread famine, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier in March, Arab leaders adopted a US$53 billion (S$70 billion) Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gaza that would avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave, in contrast to US President Donald Trump’s vision of a “Middle East Riviera”
They included the leaders of both Sudan and Somalia.
Mr Trump has proposed a US takeover of the Gaza Strip to reconstruct the destroyed enclave, after earlier suggesting that Palestinians should be permanently displaced.
His plan reinforced longstanding Palestinian fears of being permanently driven from their homes, and was met with widespread international rejection.
Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out attacks on communities in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in the military offensive Israel launched in response, according to Gaza health officials. REUTERS
