The United States and Israel have approached countries in East Africa to take Gaza Palestinians, as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to expel residents of the warpped Enclave and build a “Middle East Riviera,” said three familiar people with the issue.
Israeli officials led by the Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, sounded the governments of Somalia and Sudan, countries embraced by civil war, while the American diplomats were in contact with the province broken by Somaliland, said the people.
One said that Israel was “in conversations” with countries of the world AfricaAbout the adoption of the Gazans, although they have warned that the talks “are not so advanced at the moment”.
An American official informed Washington’s initial contacts with the Somaliland presidency said that the discussions had started in connection with a possible agreement to recognize the state of facto in exchange for the establishment of a military base near the Berbera port on the Red Sea coast.
The person, who described contacts as “the beginnings of a conversation,” said Washington had raised the possibility of moving refugees from the United States and GazaAlthough this is not the most important part of the talks.
They said that the Trump administration African team was not yet fully in place. “Until it is, these are very temporary initial contacts,” said the person.
The Associated Press first reported the contacts with the three territories of East Africa, which are all mired in their own civil conflicts and are faced with high poverty levels. This and a widespread global opposition make the relocation of a large number of Palestinians extremely improbable.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister refused to comment. The State Department underlined the previous comments of the Middle East of Trump’s Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who said: “We are actually engaging in a productive conversation around what is best for Gaza, and how we can improve people’s lives.”
The idea of ​​transferring the majority of the 2 million people in Gaza in the broken territory was the first Raised by Trump Last month, as part of his plan to resume the territory after 17 months of conflict between Hamas and Israel.
The global vision, widely condemned around the world, has changed several times during the intermediate weeks. The American leader has not been in accordance with the question of whether the Palestinians would be allowed to return home to Gaza and if he would deploy American troops.
At one point, he shared a video generated by AI-AI on social networks representing the enclave as a golden tourist center filled with casinos and beach clubs.
The Arab states, the European powers and the Palestinian leaders have all rejected vehemently any decision to move the Palestinians. Sudan and Somalia are members of the Arab League, which has also rejected any movement.
A Somali official told Financial Times: “Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and he will remain for the Palestinians. The position of Somalia on this subject is well recorded. »»
Trump seemed even further on Wednesday, telling journalists from the White House that “nobody is expressed by the Palestinians”.
The Arab states considered the plan as a direct threat to their national security and a violation of international law. This point of view was particularly strongly owned by Egypt and Jordan, which were first discussed by the United States as potential places of resettlement for Palestinians.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly seized the Trump plan, the appellant “revolutionary” and “daring”, and promised to implement him.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense last month set up a direction to encourage “voluntary emigration” of the Gazans via land, air and sea, but a person familiar with the case said that no significant measure had been taken due to a failure to find a country willing to take people.
According to local health authorities, nearly 50,000 people were killed in Gaza by the fierce military offensive of Israel after the attack on Hamas on October 7, 2023 against Israel. A large part of the territory has been reduced to rubble.
A six-week fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended this month with international mediators led by the United States, now seeking to extend the truce and secure the release of nearly 60 remaining Israeli hostages.
The former British Somaliland protectorate separated from Somalia in 1991 after the fall of Siad Barre plunged Somalia into the civil war, but Somaliland has never been recognized as an independent state.
Analysts said the Somaliland government could be tempted by the prospect of American recognition, but that any agreement involving Gazan refugees could destabilize the state of facto and strengthen the hand of Islamist restaurants.
In an interview with Sky News Arabia last month, the president of Somaliland, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro, denied that his government was in discussion with the United States about the resettlement of Palestinians and rather called a solution with consensual support for Arab nations.
“Any question of this magnitude requires a complete dialogue,” he said.
Matt Bryden, specialist in the Horn of Africa, said: “The new leadership in Hargeisa [Somaliland’s capital] is aware that public opinion would be deeply opposed to the depopulation of Gaza.
“The Government of Somaliland is ready to make enormous sacrifices in the continuation of international recognition, but not necessarily to the detriment of inner stability and legitimacy.”
The informed person of American talks with Somaliland said that Washington had not approached Sudan or Somalia. “The United States will do a total examination of our Somalia policy,” they said, which could lead to the end of the funding and the closure of the United States Embassy in Mogadishu. “Thus, the idea they are talking about about something important is laughable.”
Analysts said that an agreement with Sudan was also doubtful, given that the country undergoes a civil war which forced the government to withdraw from the capital Khartoum at Port Sudan.
