Israel and the United States are holding contacts and parallel discussions with five Asian and African countries to explore the possibility of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip emigrating “voluntarily” to the territories of these countries.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, these talks have made notable progress with two destinations, one of which is an Asian country that had previously denied involvement — Indonesia. The channel quoted an Israeli source as saying that “some of these countries are now showing greater openness than before to receiving migrants from Gaza.”

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Other countries on the negotiation table
In addition to these two destinations, the ongoing talks also include, according to Channel 12, South Sudan, Libya, and Uganda. However, the report indicated that no final agreement has yet been reached with any of these countries, and negotiations are expected to continue in the coming period.

Alongside these disclosures, South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Wednesday firmly denying a report by the Associated Press claiming that negotiations were underway with Israel to transfer Palestinians from Gaza to its territory.

The statement read: “These allegations are baseless and do not reflect the policy of the Government of South Sudan.”

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This denial came as Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel was making an official visit to South Sudan — the first visit by an Israeli government official to the country. During her trip, Haskel held a series of official meetings, including talks with President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Foreign Minister Mauni Samuel Komba.

During the visit, Haskel spoke about the situation on the ground, stating: “While the international community’s attention is focused on Gaza, South Sudan is facing a real humanitarian crisis and a famine risk that threatens the lives of many refugees fleeing the war in Sudan.”

She added: “I advise all experts in the international community and the media who talk about hunger to come here and see with their own eyes what happens when there is real famine.”

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