PM rejects Israel media report that Gazans might be relocated to Albania

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama yesterday denied an Israeli media report claiming his government had discussed with the US administration the possibility of accepting up to 100,000 Palestinians from Gaza.

“I haven’t heard something so fake in quite some time – and there’s been a lot of fake news lately! It is absolutely not true,” Rama posted on X.

The Albanian leader expressed “full respect and solidarity for the people of Gaza, who have been dehumanized by the savage Hamas regime and have endured a hellish war amid the second year of genocide in Gaza,” but clarified that Albania was not requested by anyone to take in refugees, nor could it “even consider taking on any such responsibility.”

I haven’t heard something so fake in quite some time—and there’s been a lot of fake news lately! It is absolutely not true.

Full respect and solidarity for the people of Gaza, who have been dehumanized by the savage Hamas regime and have endured a hellish war following the… pic.twitter.com/tc5YgC3ds6

— Edi Rama (@ediramaal) January 27, 2025

Rama highlighted Albania’s “strong friendships” with Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and “the Palestinian people, whose state Albania recognized a very long time ago.” He emphasised that Albania, as a European nation, is not located in the Middle East and cannot do more than other European countries in this matter.

“Yet, we wish and pray that the Palestinian people are given the chance to live in their own state, as free people under democratic rule, and that Hamas will never again be able to harm Israel — or, first and foremost, the Palestinians themselves,” he concluded.

Earlier, Israeli media reported that Tel Aviv views US President Donald Trump’s proposal for Jordan and Egypt to accept Palestinian refugees as unrealistic, prompting Washington to explore other options, including Albania, amid escalating international pressure to address the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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