Belgian Government Faces Internal Rift Over Visas for Palestinian Students
The issue emerged during a Cabinet meeting focused on budgetary measures, prompting discussions about allowing students from Gaza to enter Belgium to pursue their academic studies.
The French-speaking liberal party MR reportedly stood alone among coalition partners in opposing a compromise previously negotiated by Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot and Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt.
Under the proposed arrangement, the students would not be permitted to use their arrival in Belgium as a basis for requesting asylum or seeking family reunification. The agreement also called for establishing a task force headed by Van Bossuyt to identify ways to make procedures for returning people residing illegally in Belgium faster and more effective.
“I had agreed to discuss proposals within that framework and, after examining them, to support certain proposals if they were effective, proportionate and lawful,” Prevot reportedly said.
Although the agreement still required approval from the core Cabinet, Prevot accused MR of being the only coalition partner preventing its adoption. In a statement, he characterized the party's position as “blackmail.”
“The obstruction is a human disgrace and politically regrettable. We are talking about 13 young people who have been awarded scholarships to continue their studies at our universities,” Prevot said.
The disagreement highlights divisions within Belgium's governing coalition over the proposed admission of Palestinian scholarship recipients and the conditions attached to their arrival.
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