2024-05-04 16:03:17
The Biden administration’s plans to resettle more Israel
– 2024-04-07 07:32:13″>Palestinian Arabs from the Gaza Strip to the United States as refugees are being actively discussed.
CBS News reports this, citing internal documents of the federal government.
In the past few weeks, senior officials from several US federal agencies have discussed the “practicality of various options” for relocating Palestinian Arabs from the Gaza Strip to the US, especially those who already have relatives with a US passport or green card.
One proposed scenario involves using the existing United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for resettlement. Interestingly, in the 1940s, initiatives preceding this program were used to resettle Jewish refugees from Germany, Italy and Spain to America. In 1948, the United States passed a law limiting the right of Jewish Holocaust survivors to resettlement, but the law was changed two years later, again allowing Jews to move to America as refugees.
According to the plans, Palestinian Arabs with connections to the United States who managed to escape from the Gaza Strip and enter neighboring Egypt through the Rafah crossing could be accepted under the program. Palestinian Arabs who pass eligibility, medical and security checks will be eligible for refugee status, which provides permanent residence, resettlement benefits such as housing assistance and a path to American citizenship, CBS said.
While the number of people who could benefit from the program is expected to be small, the plans being discussed by US officials could represent “a lifeline for some Palestinian Arabs fleeing the war between Israel and Hamas.”
The Biden administration stressed that the US has already helped more than 1,800 American citizens and their families leave Gaza. Some of them came to the States. They provided evidence that they fled because of persecution based on their nationality, religion or political views.
It is worth noting that several hundred refugees have already resettled in America during the long conflict. The U.S. admitted 56 Palestinian refugees in fiscal year 2023, according to the State Department.
The Biden administration has stressed that the US “rejects any action that leads to the forced removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip or West Bank or changes to the borders of the Gaza Strip. The best path forward is to achieve a lasting ceasefire through a hostage agreement that will stabilize the situation and pave the way for “solving the two-state problem.”
Cursor previously reported on the number of American Jews supporting Israel’s actions in Gaza.