South Sudan is reportedly discussing with Israel a controversial plan to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to its territory, according to a Reuters report citing three unnamed sources.
The discussions, which remain ongoing and have not yet resulted in an agreement, are said to align with the vision of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes—and backed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
If implemented, the plan would see Palestinians from Gaza transferred to South Sudan, a move Palestinian officials and Arab governments have denounced as a “second Nakba.” Analysts note that such proposals, while long floated on the fringes of Israeli policy debates, have gained renewed traction under U.S. backing.
Britain’s Telegraph reported Thursday that Juba had already agreed to host Palestinians at Israel’s request, citing a South Sudanese foreign ministry official. In exchange, Washington would lift sanctions on South Sudan, while Israel would channel investment into the country’s health and education sectors.
Reuters added that the idea surfaced last month during the visit of South Sudanese Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba to Israel, where he held talks with senior Israeli officials.
However, these accounts contradict the official line from Juba. On Wednesday, South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed earlier reports as “baseless,” following a separate Associated Press story that also suggested advanced discussions were underway.
The conflicting narratives reflect both the sensitivity of the issue and the potential stakes for South Sudan, a young state still grappling with internal instability and fragile relations with its neighbors. For Palestinians, the reports feed into broader fears of forced displacement from Gaza under Israeli pressure.
