White House considers admitting some Palestinians from Gaza as refugees

The Biden administration is considering admitting certain Palestinians to the US as refugees, a CBS News report has found.

Senior officials from several US agencies have discussed the idea of ​​resettling Palestinians from Gaza who have immediate family members who are US citizens. One of the proposed ideas would be to use the United States Refugee Admissions Program to allow Palestinians who have ties to the US and who escaped Gaza and are now in Egypt to enter the country as refugees, CBS News reported.

The Biden administration would neither confirm nor deny that the proposal was in the works, but said in a statement to The Hill that the White House has helped more than 1,800 American citizens and their families leave Gaza since the start of the war.

According to CBS reports, senior officials have discussed the possibility of helping more Palestinians with US-based families leave Gaza if they can work in coordination with Egypt. They would have to pass eligibility tests, including medical and security screenings, to be able to fly to the US with refugee status.

“Under President Biden’s guidance, we have also helped, and will continue to help, some particularly vulnerable individuals, such as children with serious health problems and children who were receiving treatment for cancer, out of danger and into care at nearby hospitals. in the region,” the White House said in its statement.

The idea would offer a relatively small number of people the opportunity to leave Gaza, but the proposal marks a change in the long-standing U.S. refugee program. Since its creation in 1980, the program has not resettled Palestinians in the United States in large numbers. Of the more than 400,000 refugees resettled by the US over the past ten years, fewer than 600 were Palestinian, CBS reported.

The White House said the US remains the largest contributor of humanitarian aid to Gaza to address the “terrible conditions” where more than 34,000 people have died and famine is widespread. The Biden administration has said it is “pushing hard” to get more aid to civilians as quickly as possible.

“We have also been clear and consistent: the United States categorically rejects any actions that would lead to the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank or the redrawing of Gaza’s borders,” the statement said. “The best path forward is to achieve a sustainable ceasefire through a hostage agreement that stabilizes the situation and paves the way for a two-state solution.”

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story