President Biden Administration Considering Allowing Palestinians from Gaza to Resettle in US as Refugees

Who are the beneficiaries?

Palestinians related to US citizens or permanent residents

• US government documents obtained by CBS News revealed that the administration of President Joe Biden is considering the practical application of various options for the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza who have family relationships with American citizens or permanent residence.

Fleeing from Gaza towards Egypt

• One such proposal involves using the decades-old US refugee admissions program to receive Palestinians with ties to the United States who managed to escape Gaza and enter Egypt, according to interagency planning documents.
• The documents said the step had to be coordinated with Egypt, which has so far refused to receive large numbers of Gaza residents.

Those who qualify for refugee status go through a number of procedures

• “Those eligible to travel to the United States as refugees go through a series of eligibility checks, medical and security checks, and receive permanent residency, resettlement benefits such as housing assistance, and a path to U.S. citizenship.”

Although the number of those eligible is expected to be “relatively small,” the plans that American officials “could provide a way of life for some fleeing Palestinians” from the war between Israel and Hamas.”

The proposals to resettle some Palestinians as refugees represent a shift in long-term US government policy and practice, as since 1980, the US refugee program has been able to resettle Palestinians in numbers big, according to CBS News.

A statement from the White House at the same time renewed Washington’s categorical rejection of any measures leading to the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank or the redrawing of Gaza’s borders.