The United States suspended the issuance of a temporary residence visa for Gaza residents following a wave of controversy caused by allied Donald Trump. The State Department announced on Saturday the decision to suspend the visit and launch a detailed review of the procedures.
As reported by Reuters, the U.S. authorities reported on platform X that the issuance of temporary residence visas for people from the Gaza Strip was suspended. The State Department noted that in fresh days only a tiny number of visa papers were issued for residents of the region.
Political controversy
The crisis began with the entry of Laura Loomer, an utmost right-wing activist and Trump's ally, who stated on social media that Palestinian "refugees" entered the US this month. Her words caused a sharp reaction among any Republicans.
Florida Congressman Randy Fine described the situation as "a threat to national security". The political consequence led to a fast decision by the authorities to suspend visa procedures.
Visa statistics
According to the State Department's records, the United States has so far issued over 3800 B1/B2 visas to persons holding the recognition papers of the Palestinian Authority. Only in May they were granted 640, mainly to let treatment in the United States.
The decision of the U.S. authorities was made at the time erstwhile the negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip were in stalemate, as reported by Bankier.pl. Israel is planning a fresh offensive to capture the city of Gaza, which could lead to about half of the 2.1 million inhabitants of the region being displaced.
Context of the conflict
Against the background of the decision, the war in the Gaza Strip has continued since 7 October 2023, launched by the Hamas attack to the south of Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were abducted. To this day, about 20 hostages stay in captivity.
According to the Gaza authorities, over 61.8 1000 Palestinians lost their lives in Israeli retaliatory actions. The deepening humanitarian crisis, including hunger, contributes to the increasing global criticism of Israel, according to Bankier.pl.
Sources used: "PAP", "Reuters", "Bankier.pl" Note: This article has been edited with the aid of Artificial Intelligence.
