Source : NEW INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS
Rubio says US ‘encouraging’ Israel on Gaza aid
Rubio told the Appropriations Committee that the Trump administration is encouraging but not threatening Israel to resume humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza.
He said the US is not following the lead of several European countries that have imposed sanctions or warned of actions against Israel amid the dearth of assistance reaching vulnerable Palestinians.
However, he said US officials have stressed in discussions with the Israelis that aid is urgently needed for civilians in Gaza who are suffering during Israel’s military operation against Hamas.
“We’re not prepared to respond the way these countries have,” but the US has engaged with Israel in the last few days about “the need to resume humanitarian aid,” Rubio said. “We anticipate that those flows will increase over the next few days and weeks — it’s important that that be achieved.”
And Rubio acknowledged that the administration was approaching foreign governments about taking mass numbers of civilians from Gaza but insisted that any Palestinians leaving would be “voluntary.”
“There’s no deportation,” Rubio said. “We’ve asked countries preliminarily whether they will be open to accepting people not as a permanent solution, but as a bridge to reconstruction” in Gaza.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., condemned it as a “strategy of forced migration.”
Also on the Middle East, Rubio said the administration has pushed ahead with attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and promote stability in Syria.
He stressed the importance of US engagement with Syria, saying that otherwise, he fears the interim government there could be weeks or months away from a “potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions.”
Rubio’s comments addressed Trump’s pledge to lift sanctions burdening Syria’s new transitional government, which is led by a former militant chief who led the overthrow of the country’s longtime oppressive leader, Bashar Assad, late last year. The US sanctions were imposed under Assad.
Clash over white South Africans entering US
In two particularly contentious exchanges, Kaine and Van Hollen demanded answers on the decision to suspend overall refugee admissions but to exempt Afrikaners based on what they called “specious” claims that they have been subjected to massive discrimination by the South African government. Rubio gave no ground.
In one tense exchange, Kaine pressed Rubio to say whether there should be a different refugee policy based on skin color.
“I’m not the one arguing that,” Rubio said.
“Apparently, you are, because you don’t like the fact they’re white.”
“The United States has a right to pick and choose who we allow into the United States,” he said. “If there is a subset of people that are easier to vet, who we have a better understanding of who they are and what they’re going to do when they come here, they’re going to receive preference.”
He added: “There are a lot of sad stories around the world, millions and millions of people around the world. It’s heartbreaking, but we cannot assume millions and millions of people around the world. No country can.”
SOURCE :- NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
