Ron DeSantis Voices Concerns Over Palestinian Refugees
In a series of campaign events over the weekend, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has strongly expressed his views on Palestinian refugees seeking asylum in the United States. The GOP presidential candidate has called for caution in accepting refugees from Gaza, asserting that it is not in the best interests of the United States.
DeSantis: U.S. Should Not Take Palestinian Refugees, Arab Nations Need To ‘Step Up’ https://t.co/0Phcb9UOOK pic.twitter.com/4eV2uRngiI
— Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) October 15, 2023
The governor’s remarks come in the wake of a harrowing incident where Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic terrorist organization, inflicted significant casualties on Israelis, claiming the lives of more than 1,300 individuals and leaving over 3,000 injured in what has been described as the deadliest day in Israel’s history.
In retaliation, Israel launched air strikes on Gaza and imposed a siege on the territory, denying it essentials such as food and fuel.
During a rally in Iowa on Saturday, DeSantis articulated his concerns, stating, “I don’t know what Biden’s gonna do, but we cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees. I am not going to do that. If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all anti-Semitic. None of them believe in Israel’s right to exist.”
DeSantis pointed out that no Arab states have shown a willingness to accept Palestinian refugees, emphasizing that it is these neighboring countries that should shoulder the responsibility of aiding Palestinian Arabs. “You don’t fly people and import them into the United States of America,” he stated.
The governor raised a crucial issue regarding demonstrations in the United States that support Hamas. He questioned how it had come to a point where people in the country were praising terrorists responsible for tragic incidents, such as the murder of innocent babies. He drew attention to students at prestigious institutions like Harvard signing letters in praise of Hamas.
DeSantis highlighted the pressing problems faced by the country and his perspective on the matter, saying, “We’ve got some serious problems in this country. We’ve allowed a lot of these problems to fester. But my view is very simple: If you don’t like this country, if you hate America, you should not come to this country. We’ve got to start being smart about this.”
After the rally, he reiterated his position while speaking with reporters, saying Palestinian refugees should not be allowed to enter the U.S. “We cannot be absorbing people coming from Gaza to the United States of America. All those Arab countries for years have not done anything with respect to helping Palestinian Arabs. And so now’s the time for them to step up. They should do that.”
DeSantis also called upon Hamas to cease using innocent civilians as human shields by preventing them from leaving Gaza during Israeli military operations. He condemned this practice, stating, “Hamas should stop having people in Gaza stay knowing operations are going to happen. They’re using them as human shields; that’s wrong.”