The narrative about accepting Palestinian refugees in Albania continues, despite official denials

Although denied by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Albanian media continue to circulate narratives about Albania accepting Palestinian refugees.

In a video a few days ago, US President Donald Trump made comments that did not rule out Albania as a possible host country for Palestinians displaced from Gaza. While this claim was quickly denied by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, some Albanian media outlets continued to circulate and amplify this narrative, also adding narratives that see Trump’s plan for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza as a done deal.

But this is not unexpected news. At the end of January, news began circulating in the Albanian media that Albania would accept 100,000 Palestinians displaced from Gaza. The news was denied by Prime Minister Edi Rama, however speculation has continued in both traditional and social media, especially after the US President spoke of a plan to evacuate the Gaza Strip just a week ago. However, there is no evidence to confirm this relocation, which would moreover be illegal under United Nations statutes on ethnic cleansing.

On January 27, the Israeli political analyst for channel 12 News (one of the largest and most popular channels in the country), posted an article on the X/Twitter platform claiming that President Trump's administration is in discussions with Tirana, where up to 100,000 people from Gaza could migrate.

“Israeli sources believe that Egypt and Jordan will reject some of the refugees, and claim that options like Albania and Indonesia are more likely,” Segal writes.

Segal's post, which relied solely on vague statements and "inside sources," also gained traction due to the timing of its publication. President Trump declared on February 4 that the United States should take control of Gaza and permanently relocate the entire Palestinian population, who would be dispersed to neighboring areas such as Jordan and Egypt.

Trump's statement was met with anger and disbelief from the international community, including world leaders. The UN's chief investigator for human rights in Palestine told Politico that the plan is illegal under international law and "amounts to ethnic cleansing."

In Albania, the news was widely reported by some of the country's largest channels, even though it had not yet been confirmed by either the Israeli or Tirana governments.

Some of these news stories also used language that conveyed fear to the reader, describing Palestinians as "Hamas fighters" who should be feared.

This claim also circulated on social media , where the numbers rumored in the Israeli media were further exaggerated, now talking about "1 million" Palestinians expected to come to Albania.

Prime Minister Edi Rama immediately denied the news. On the social network X/Twitter, Rama responded to journalist Amit Segal by denying the claim. "It's been a while since I heard something so false and there has been a lot of fake news lately! It is absolutely not true.

"We have full respect and solidarity for the people of Gaza, who have been dehumanized by the savage Hamas regime and have endured a diabolical war after the medieval horrors of October 7. But let me be clear: no one has asked Albania for such a thing and we cannot even assume this kind of responsibility," Rama wrote.

Most media outlets spread the news about Gaza accompanied by Rama's denial. However, there are also those who have spread Rama's statement with skepticism, saying that Israel has not yet rejected the claim, thus continuing the cycle of baseless claims. Others have continued to circulate it as a matter of course, even after Rama's statement.

Even though the news about Albania is false, the danger lies for the population of Gaza, as President Trump continues to insist on his plan to relocate the Palestinian population in violation of international law, especially when this plan appears to have the support of the Israeli government. faktoje.al