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Universities slam Belgian refusal to evacuate Gaza students

middleeasteye.net · 17h · first reportShare

Universities slam Belgian refusal to evacuate Gaza students Belgium's top universities condemned on Monday the government's refusal to help 13 students from war-torn Gaza who received scholarships at Belgian universities reach the country. Brussels set aside plans to evacuate the Palestinian students last week in a case that has split the coalition government. The rectors of the European country's top 10 universities expressed their "dismay" at the move in a letter, accusing the administration of using the students as "bargaining chips" in a "disgraceful political horse-trading". Centrist Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot has advocated in favour of evacuating the students but has faced opposition from the Flemish conservatives party of Prime Minister Bart De Wever, according to a government source. Prevot said one member of the five-party coalition demanded concessions on migration, including the creation of deportation centres, in return for greenlighting the evacuations. "Discussions in