U.S., Israel interested in Sudan, Somalia and Syria for resettlement of Gazans, sources say [View all]
Source: CBS News
Updated on: March 16, 2025 / 5:24 PM EDT
The Trump administration and Israel approached the governments of Sudan and Somalia, and have also been interested in Syria, as potential places to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, according to three sources familiar with the effort. The idea of Palestinian resettlement in another country is one of several options the Trump team is chewing over as part of the U.S. president's larger goal of ending Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and rebuilding the devastated Palestinian enclave.
"Nobody is expelling any Palestinians," President Trump said Wednesday, when the Irish Prime Minister was asked during the two leaders' Oval Office meeting by a Voice of America reporter about the president's controversial remarks in February when he suggested taking ownership of Gaza to rebuild it.
Mr. Trump made the remarks during a Feb. 4 press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Gaza could be the "Riviera of the Middle East." " We should go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts, and there are many of them that want to do this, and build various domains that will ultimately be occupied by the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza, ending the death and destruction," Mr. Trump said.
A combination of Israeli and U.S. officials communicated to Sudan and Somalia, two diplomatic sources confirmed to CBS News. Senior far-right Israeli government officials have already been calling for Palestinians to migrate from the enclave. Mr. Trump's remarks have only emboldened Israel to reach out to other countries to explore opportunities for Palestinian resettlement, one source said.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gazans-resettlement-sudan-somalia-syria/
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