Juba strongly rejects reports it would accept Gazans or deportees under a US-Israel-brokered plan, calling the claims “fabricated” and “baseless.”
South Sudan’s government has once again flatly denied claims that it agreed to accept Palestinian Arabs from Gaza or had signed any arrangement with the United States to host deportees, AFP reported Thursday.
The firm rejection comes amid swirling speculation following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that Gazans could “voluntarily emigrate” and that several countries were being considered as possible destinations. Among those named was South Sudan, where Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel visited in August in what was hailed as the highest-level Israeli delegation ever received in Juba.
But South Sudanese officials were unequivocal. “There has never been any question that has been discussed… on the issue of Palestinians being resettled in South Sudan,” said Philip Jada Natana, Director General for Bilateral Relations.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Apuk Ayuel Mayen also dismissed speculation of a deportation pact with Washington. “There is no discussion on that and there is no deal that has been signed,” she stated, clarifying that the July arrival of eight deportees from the United States was a one-time bilateral case and not part of a wider plan.
The controversy began when the Associated Press reported several weeks ago, citing anonymous sources, that South Sudan was being considered as part of a resettlement scheme for Gaza civilians. Juba immediately labeled the claims “baseless.”
Still, The Telegraph later claimed that South Sudan had privately agreed to accept Gazans under a plan quietly brokered with Israel, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. That narrative has been strongly rejected not only by Juba but also by Palestinian officials. “We reject any plan or idea to displace any of our people to South Sudan or to any other place,” said Palestinian Authority official Wasel Abu Youssef, echoing a statement from PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s office.
For now, South Sudan insists it has no role in any relocation plan and has signaled it will not be drawn into what it views as an externally manufactured controversy.
