In the wake of Canada's pledge to accept 5,000 Gaza refugees, Yisrael Hayom decided to delve into the various countries' positions.
Last December, Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Marc Miller announced that Canada would begin offering temporary residency to extended family members of Canadians residing in the Gaza Strip who wish to flee. On May 27, Miller announced an expansion of the program, increasing the number of eligible Gazans from 1,000 to 5,000.
By May 20, 2,903 applications were received, with 41 individuals having entered the country. Thus far, less than one percent of the 5,000 have arrived in Canada.
Internal US government documents, reported by CBS a month ago, reveal that senior officials from various federal agencies have been discussing practical options for admitting Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who have first-degree relatives who are American citizens or permanent residents. According to the report, the number of individuals eligible for entry is expected to be relatively limited.
A harsh critic of the report was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who stated, "I don't even think Biden's crazy enough to be letting a bunch of Palestinian Arabs from Gaza into the United States," adding that their admission would introduce "bloody conflicts into the country."
Prior to the ground offensive, several figures declared their intention to welcome Gazan refugees. One prominent voice was Humza Yousaf, the former first minister of Scotland, who proclaimed on October 18 that "Scotland is ready to be the first nation in Britain to take in refugees from Gaza."
Yousaf stepped down in April, leaving Gazan residents still distant from Glasgow. His promise went unfulfilled.
Finally, there is Spain, whose Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a left-wing politician repeatedly condemned Israel, accusing it of ethnic cleansing, apartheid and genocide. However, the frequent use of the term "genocide" about the events in Gaza could backfire.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry has requested that ministers avoid the term "genocide" when addressing the situation in Gaza. Concerns exist that a Supreme Court ruling on refugee admissions could effectively require the Foreign Ministry to fly applicants to Spain.
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