There is increasing uncertainty regarding President Donald Trump’s plans for the future of the Gaza Strip and its inhabitants.
Officials from the US and Israel have reportedly reached out to three East African nations to explore the possibility of relocating Palestinians displaced from the region to their territories.
This development suggests that Trump is determined to move forward with his widely criticized proposal to resettle Gaza’s two million residents elsewhere.
This announcement follows his statement to reporters at the White House, where he asserted, “nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza.”
The Palestinian militant group Hamas and neighboring Egypt both expressed approval of his apparent withdrawal from the idea of permanently displacing Gazans.
However, US officials have indicated that Washington and Tel Aviv have approached the governments of Sudan, Somalia, and the self-declared region of Somaliland to accept these individuals.
Each of these countries is currently grappling with its own crises, including civil unrest, drought, and famine.
Israel and the US are prepared to offer various incentives—financial, diplomatic, and security-related—to these potential host nations.
Sudanese authorities have stated that they have declined the US proposals, while officials from Somalia and Somaliland claimed they were unaware of any such discussions.
The White House has refrained from commenting on these outreach efforts.
Last month, Trump caused a global stir by suggesting a US takeover of Gaza, envisioning it as a real estate development project.
The notion of a mass relocation of Palestinians was previously regarded as a fringe idea among Israel’s ultranationalist groups.
However, since Trump introduced this concept during a White House meeting last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised it as a “bold vision.”
Arab nations have strongly opposed this idea, proposing an alternative reconstruction plan that would allow Palestinians to remain in their homeland.
Human rights organizations have warned that coercing or pressuring Palestinians to leave could constitute a potential war crime.
