A great number of citizens seeking protection have arrived in the United States as a result of recent global events, including the war in Ukraine, the escalating violence in Haiti, and the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan.
Could there be an increase in Palestinian refugees entering the US as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict?
The Biden administration faces a challenging scenario as domestic political pressures are mounting minute by minute and global tensions are on the rise.
Furthermore, a number of US presidential candidates have already made the topic a central theme of their primary campaign stump speeches.
A list of some important queries and their current understanding is provided below.
Does the US have any plans to accept Gazan refugees?
According to the UN, since the conflict broke out after Hamas militants attacked Israel earlier this month, more than 1.4 million Palestinians have been forced to flee inside Gaza.
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No new initiatives to resettle Palestinian refugees in the US or parole programmes that would open doors for them to enter the US have been revealed by the Biden administration.
When asked earlier this month whether any Gaza refugees should come to the United States, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded, “Right now…the focus is on getting humanitarian assistance in and trying to work on some measure of safe passage out.”
The single operational border crossing that would enable individuals to leave Gaza has not yet been opened by Egyptian officials.
However, a number of contenders for the Republican presidential primaries have made it clear that they would prevent Palestinians from entering the US due to concerns about terrorism. The US, the EU, and Israel all classify Hamas, the militant Palestinian organisation in charge of the enclave and the group that attacked Israel earlier this month, as terrorists.
Even more, some Republican lawmakers have submitted laws termed “The GAZA Act,” which stands for “Guaranteeing Aggressors Zero Admission” in the initial initials of the name of the Palestinian area.
The International Refugee Assistance Project’s policy director, Sunil Varghese, labels these proposed policies as xenophobic and notes that they ignore a basic fact.
“It is impossible to leave Gaza. There isn’t a secure way to leave the area. Gaza’s civilian population is trapped there by the ongoing bombing. Egypt’s borders are not going to open. Israel isn’t going to open its borders. Varghese claims that even Palestinian
Americans are unable to leave
.
Thus, he claims, arguments of outlawing Palestinian refugees from entering the US are illogical.
“It’s difficult to see it as anything other than scare tactics,” remarks Varghese. However, I believe that we shouldn’t lose sight of the possibility that there are extremely vulnerable people—including those with ties to the United States—who we should accept.
What words do Palestinians use?
Even if the border crossings are opened, Palestinians who recently talked with CNN from a refugee camp inside the capital of Jordan stated that their families don’t want to leave Gaza.
It is their home, Gaza. According to 49-year-old Abdel-Munim Dababsheh, “They will stay there even if it means being wiped out by an airstrike.”
CNN spoke with Hanya Sabawi, whose family still resides in Gaza despite her leaving as a baby, and she expressed uncertainty about her family’s ability to return home.
Naturally, the greatest concern is that they will be evacuated and treated like refugees. As if they didn’t matter, this is what everyone is now freely discussing,” the woman remarked. They are unwilling to relocate. They would rather to perish in Gaza than relocate.
