Instead, he said “the Arab states” should take them in.
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on Saturday said the U.S. should not accept Gaza refugees as conflict in the Middle East escalates.
“If you look at how [people in Gaza] behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all anti-Semitic,” the Florida governor said at a campaign event in Iowa.
Israel is expected to move forward with a ground invasion of northern Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ attacks last weekend. Palestinians in Gaza have struggled to follow an evacuation order, which covers an area with over 1.1 million residents — about half of the territory’s population — and demands that they cram into the southern half of the 25-mile strip.
“We cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees,” DeSantis told the audience.
Instead, he said “the Arab states” should take them in. “You don’t fly people and import them into the United States of America,” he added.
DeSantis, a longtime supporter of Israel, called for a “swift and lethal response” following Hamas’ attack last week.
The Florida governor signed an executive order Thursday directing the state to arrange charter flights for Americans out of Israel — in addition to those already ordered by the Biden administration.
