Belgium’s MR blocks proposed visa arrangement for 13 Gaza scholarship students, prompting Foreign Minister Prévot to accuse the party of “blackmail”

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said the French-speaking liberal MR party was the only coalition partner to reject a proposed arrangement for 13 Palestinian students from Gaza who have scholarships to study at Belgian universities. The dispute arose at a core Cabinet meeting on Saturday, October 10, and the deal still required the Cabinet’s approval, Belga reported.

Under the compromise Prévot had reached with Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt, the students would not be able to use their arrival in Belgium to apply for asylum or family reunification. It also called for a task force led by Van Bossuyt to examine ways to speed up the return procedures for people living in Belgium illegally.

Prévot described MR’s opposition as “blackmail,” calling it a human disgrace and politically regrettable. He said the 13 young adults’ future should not be used as a bargaining chip in migration talks, adding that he was sincerely saddened for the students.