The inability to bring Palestinian scholarship students accepted by universities in Belgium from Gaza to the country has increased pressure on the Belgian government. After Italy and the United Kingdom established evacuation mechanisms for people in similar situations, university rectors renewed their call for a solution.
The rectors of the University of Antwerp, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Ghent University and Hasselt University described the federal government's failure to reach an agreement on the issue as unacceptable. Saying that the matter depended on political will, the rectors argued that some parties in the governing coalition lacked that will.
The rectors stressed that the universities' doors were open to the Palestinian scholarship students. They said that if the students reached Belgium, they would stay in student residences rather than asylum centers and attend classes like other international students.
The rectors also rejected Migration and Asylum Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt's assessment that Palestinian students could apply for family reunification or asylum if they came to the country, potentially creating a domino effect.
The rectors said the scholarship students had strong résumés and were eager to continue their education, adding that their programs aligned with Gaza's reconstruction needs. They said the students wanted to contribute to the region's future after completing their studies.
Exit from Gaza, not visas, is the obstacle to evacuations
The Belgian Foreign Ministry said the main obstacle to evacuating the students was not the visa procedure but the inability to secure their actual exit from Gaza. The ministry said that under current conditions, leaving Gaza was possible only through evacuations organized by third countries or medical evacuation operations conducted with the World Health Organization.
The ministry said alternative options were being assessed with the relevant partners and authorities, and that Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot had withdrawn his proposal to gradually restart evacuations from Gaza and bring Palestinian scholarship students to Belgium.
Maxime Prevot withdrew his proposal after one of the governing partners tied the issue to concessions on returns to Afghanistan and return centers. University rectors, meanwhile, called for the matter to be resolved quickly.
