US, Israel look to Africa to resettle Palestinians uprooted from Gaza

There is more confusion over United States President Donald Trump’s vision for the future of the Gaza Strip and its people.

US and Israeli officials says they have reached out to three East African countries to discuss using their territories as destinations for Palestinians uprooted from the enclave.

The news appears to signal that Trump intends pressing ahead with his widely condemned plan to move Gaza’s two million people elsewhere.

It comes hours after he told reporters at the White House that “nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza”.

Palestinian militant group, Hamas, and neighbour Egypt, both welcomed his apparent retreat yesterday on his proposed permanent displacement of Gazans.

But US officials are now saying Washington and Tel Aviv have contacted the governments of Sudan, Somali, and the breakaway region of Somaliland to receive them.

All three are facing crises of their own, including a civil war, drought, and famine.

Israel and the US have a variety of incentives — financial, diplomatic and security — to offer these potential partners.

The authorities in Sudan said they have rejected the US overtures, while officials from the Somalia and Somaliland said they were not aware of any contacts.

The White House declined to comment on the outreach efforts.

Trump sent shockwaves across the world last month when he proposed a US takeover of Gaza which would see it developed as a real estate project.

The idea of a mass transfer of Palestinians was once considered a fantasy of Israel’s ultranationalist fringe.

But since Trump presented the idea at a White House meeting last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed it as a “ bold vision”.

Arab nations have expressed vehement opposition and offered an alternative reconstruction plan that would leave the Palestinians in place.

Rights groups have said forcing or pressuring the Palestinians to leave could be a potential war crime.