US AND ISRAELI officials have contacted a number of African nations seeking cooperation from them in their plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza and develop the land, the Associated Press reports.

Officials from both countries, speaking under a condition of anonymity, said the US and Israeli governments have contacted authorities in Somalia, the breakaway territory of Somaliland and Sudan, asking that they assist with the plan.

It is unclear how much the discussions have progressed, the sources told the Associated Press. It comes after US President Donald Trump rejected the charge that he and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are seeking to expel Palestinians from Gaza.

The plan was announced last month when Netanyahu visited Trump at the White House in Washington D.C. At a press conference the President said that he wants to “take over” Gaza, permanently resettle its residents elsewhere, “level it out” and redevelop it.

He later said that Palestinians would not have a right to return under his plan. The proposal was roundly condemned by US allies and countries in the Middle East and human rights organisations, who claimed the plan may be a breach of humanitarian law.

Organisations in Palestine this week, including Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization, welcomed remarks by Trump during a separate meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin when he said: “Nobody’s expelling any Palestinians.”

Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministries said a focus should be on securing a durable peace in Gaza and facilitating a two-state solution and ceasefire agreement.

Still, the White House says Trump stands by his original remarks but declined to comment to the Associated Press on the level of engagement it has had with other countries about the plan.

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.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says that “displaced persons have a right to voluntary return in to their homes or places of habitual residence as soon as the reasons for their displacement cease to exist”.

As such, refusing to allow Palestinians displaced from Gaza to return could be tried as a crime under international law.

With reporting from AFP

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