Human rights groups have warned that the expulsion of the Gaza population would violate international law.
South Sudan denied having discussions with Israel on the potential “reinstallation” of Gaza Palestinians in the Eastern African country.
The Associated Press news agency reported earlier than the two countries were engaged in talks on an Israeli proposal to force Palestinian residents from Gaza to South Sudan, citing six people familiar with the issue.
South Sudan “firmly refutes recent media reports saying that the Government of the South Sudan Republic is involved in a discussion with the State of Israel concerning the resettlement of Palestinian nationals from Gaza to South Sudan,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.
He said that allegations are “baseless and does not reflect the position or official policy” of the South South Sudanese government.
Several Israeli officials have proposed that the forced displacement of Gaza Palestinians – a move from human rights groups would not constitute forced expulsion, ethnic cleaning and violates international law.
The detractors of the transfer plan fear that the Palestinians would never be authorized to return to Gaza and that mass departure could open the way to Israel to annex the enclave and restore the Israeli colonies there, as called by far-right ministers of the Israeli government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said that he wanted to advance what he calls “voluntary migration” for a large part of the Gaza population, a policy he has linked to the previous statements of US President Donald Trump.
“I think that the right thing to do, even according to the laws of war as I know them, is to allow the population to leave, then you enter with all your might against the enemy who stays there,” Netanyahu said in an interview with I24, an Israeli television channel. He did not refer to South Sudan.
AP reported that Israel and the United States have launched similar proposals with Sudan, Somalia and the Somaliland region.
Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, firmly opposed any forced transfer of the Palestinians outside the enclave, fearing an influx of refugees in its territory.
South Sudan had trouble recovering from a civil war which broke out shortly after independence in 2011, killing nearly 400,000 people and leaving parts of the country faced with famine. It already houses a large population of refugees because of conflicts in neighboring countries.
Edmund Yakani, South Sudanese Civil Society Head, told AP that the country “should not become a dumping ground for people … and that he should not agree to take people as a chip negotiation to improve relations”.
Joe Szlavik, founder of an American lobbying company working with South Sudan, said that he had been informed by South-South officials on talks.
According to Szlavik, the country wants the Trump administration to launch a travel ban and remove sanctions on certain South Sudanese elites.
Peter Martell, a journalist, said that “South Sudan short of money needs all ally, financial gain and diplomatic security that it can obtain”.
The Trump administration has already put pressure on several countries to accept expulsions, and South Sudan has already taken eight people withdrawn from the United States under the mass deportation policy of the administration.
