Somalis rejects U.S. plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza

Locals in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu rejected Friday a proposal of resettling Palestinians from Gaza in Somalia. "In my opinion, as an independent Somali politician, I don’t think that it will get the unanimous support of the Somali people, be it people, the population or the government," said politician Mohamed Mohamed Elmi Afrah.

The contacts with Sudan, Somalia and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland reflect the determination by the U.S. and Israel to press ahead with a plan that has been widely condemned and raised serious legal and moral issues. Because all three places are poor, and in some cases wracked by violence, the proposal also casts doubt on U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated goal of resettling Gaza’s Palestinians in a “beautiful area.”

Officials from Sudan said they have rejected overtures from the U.S., while officials from Somalia and Somaliland told The Associated Press that they were not aware of any contacts. Under Trump’s plan, Gaza’s more than 2 million people would be permanently sent elsewhere. He has proposed the U.S. would take ownership of the territory, oversee a lengthy cleanup process and develop it 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.” Palestinians in Gaza have rejected the proposal and dismiss Israeli claims that the departures would be voluntary.

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.