# What countries allow immigration from Gaza ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806 "2014-07-10T23:37:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hooleehootoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eada6e/32.png) [@Hooleehootoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hooleehootoo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/1 "2014-07-10T23:37:11Z")
Don’t count countries that only would grant a short-term tourist visa. As an example consider a family of husband, wife, 2 children ages 2-18 no specialized job skills. They would be supported by a grant from a hypothetical charity. Is it the same situation for a resident of the West Bank? I would think so. How about Palestinians living in Israel proper or Palestinians living in countries like Jordan and Syria? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/2 "2014-07-10T23:47:01Z")
I thought that Gaza and the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank were both the same country. Can a Gaza-ite not travel to the West Bank the same way an Alaskan can move to Illinois? ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/3 "2014-07-10T23:57:16Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I thought that Gaza and the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank were both the same country. Can a Gaza-ite not travel to the West Bank the same way an Alaskan can move to Illinois? Nope, it is nigh on impossible for a resident of Gaza to enter the West Bank. There’s a number of people in Gaza (mainly ex-political prisoners and militants) from the West Bank who’ve been exiled there by Israel. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/4 "2014-07-11T02:54:05Z")
> [@Asympotically\_fat](#): > > Nope, it is nigh on impossible for a resident of Gaza to enter the West Bank. There’s a number of people in Gaza (mainly ex-political prisoners and militants) from the West Bank who’ve been exiled there by Israel. In 2008 Israel helped Fatah supporters flea the Gaza Strip, Gaza becoming Hamas controlled. They took the Fatah people to West Bank … Hamas and Fatah have heads of agreement to be unified as Palestine, but perhaps the effect at work is “the enemy of your enemy is your friend…”… Fatah is condoning the Israeli occupation of West Bank… while Hamas is vehemently opposed to Israeli occupation of Israel… Here’s the top 9 Palestinians diaspora populations (From wikipedia article “palestinian diaspora”)… In Arab countries they are treated as less-than-resident… Like put in camps and told that they can’t go to work or school …as if they will go home soon. Jordan 3,240,000 Israel 1,650,000 Syria 630,000 Chile 500,000 Lebanon 402,582 Saudi Arabia 280,245 Egypt 270,245 United States 255,000 Honduras 250,000 ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/5 "2014-07-11T03:29:51Z")
> [@Asympotically\_fat](#): > > Nope, it is nigh on impossible for a resident of Gaza to enter the West Bank. There’s a number of people in Gaza (mainly ex-political prisoners and militants) from the West Bank who’ve been exiled there by Israel. That’s because Palestine is an occupied and divided country, and a lot of the travel (all travel) is controlled by Israel. In fact, the West Bank isn’t the west bank - it’s a swiss cheese of a few dozen pieces of Palestinian-controlled (to some extent) land bisected by roads under Israeli control and in some places, the “border wall” dives deep inside the Palestinian land to protect Israeli settlements put on land taken from the Palestinians. The Arabs who are living in Israel generally are Israeli citizens - except, I understand that East Jerusalem residents have a special living permit to be allowed to stay in the city they were born and grew up in; a right they could lose if they are away from the place for too long. As I understand it, they have the option to ask for Israeli citizenship, but essentially it’s a Hobsons Choice. The Israelis demand they then renounce all other citizenships, which would make them social pariahs and likely targets of revenge killings; so Israel has the moral high ground of saying “we offered”, knowing there would be almost no takers. For example, if an East Jerusalem occupant wants to marry someone from the west bank (or Gaza) that spouse will not get a permit to live in east Jerusalem. I think Jordan offers West Bank residents travel documents if they need to go somewhere that does not accept Palestinian documents. Not sure about Gaza. I don’t know of any specific restrictions on Gaza immigration, for example, to Canada. However, it will be very difficult to perform any background checks; similarly, Canada AFAIK has no consulate in the Gaza Strip, so visitng the Embassy in Jerusalem to fill out paper and do interviews is pretty much impossible. Egypt has a vested interest in not loosening the border either, since recently militants from Gaza have snuck out through the border to attack Israel, and have killed Egyptian military and police in the Sinai. So at this point, it is the world’s biggest concentration camp. When times get tough, the Israelis prevent supplies from entering. Until recently, Israel authorities used to bulldoze the house of the extended family if anyone was involved in a terrorist attack; now they just bomb them. Can’t understand why the Gaza people hate Israel’s guts? You don’t need Palestinian militants to persuade them. ---
**Author:** ![jiHymas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/6 "2014-07-11T03:42:44Z")
[Canada does](http://www.canadianarabinstitute.org/publications/reports/arab-immigration-canada-hits-record-high/). > [@Canadian Arab Institute](#): > > The first recorded immigrants from the Palestinian Authority were in 1996 (5), with numbers increasing annually to a high of 655 in 2010, and a total of 5,520 by 2011. > > It is believed that many more Palestinians have immigrated to Canada since 1960, but they would have been carrying citizenships of other countries (mostly Jordanian and Lebanese), making an accurate assessment of their numbers using immigration-by-citizenship data not possible. [Visas are processed in Tel Aviv](http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/west_bank_gaza-cisjordanie_bande_de_gaza/visas/index.aspx?lang=eng): > [@Government of Canada](#): > > The Visa section of the Embassy of Canada in Tel Aviv, Israel, is responsible for immigration applications for nationals and residents of West Bank, as well as visa applications for Jerusalem ID holders. In 2001, Canada’s foreign minister, John Manley, was [burned in effigy](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/14/perverse-palestinian-pride/?page=all) over the issue. > [@Daniel Mandel](#): > > If readers doubt my word, consider this vignette from January 2001. That month, Palestinian rioters in the West Bank burned in effigy John Manley, then foreign minister in Jean Chretien’s Canadian government. His sin? Mr. Manley had offered to welcome Palestinian refugees and their descendants to Canada after a peace settlement. The Palestinian response? Legislator Hussam Khader of Fatah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ party - not Hamas or another of the Islamist groups - threatened Canada, saying, “If Canada is serious about resettlement, you could expect military attacks in Ottawa or Montreal.” ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/7 "2014-07-11T06:12:15Z")
> [@jiHymas](#): > > [Canada does](http://www.canadianarabinstitute.org/publications/reports/arab-immigration-canada-hits-record-high/). That doesn’t actually show that Canada allows immigration from Gaza on the terms specified by the OP. It only says that some people from Palestine have been allowed to immigrate to Canada. I’d expect these are either refugees or people with skills that entered under an employment permit scheme, both of which could apply to anyone from any country who met the criteria rather than being specifically “allowing immigration from Gaza”. I’m not sure if the type of thing OP is talking about exists anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![jiHymas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/8 "2014-07-11T07:30:57Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > That doesn’t actually show that Canada allows immigration from Gaza on the terms specified by the OP. It only says that some people from Palestine have been allowed to immigrate to Canada. I’d expect these are either refugees or people with skills that entered under an employment permit scheme, both of which could apply to anyone from any country who met the criteria rather than being specifically “allowing immigration from Gaza”. > > I’m not sure if the type of thing OP is talking about exists anywhere. True enough. But [refugees can be sponsored](http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/sponsor/list-sponsors.asp) as [explained by one sponsor](http://www.catholicsocialservices.ab.ca/CSSFindServicesbyCategory/ImmigrationandSettlement.aspx?id=181): > [@Catholic Social Services](#): > > To be eligible for sponsorship, an individual must be a person who has fled his or her country due to civil war, armed conflict, or massive violations of human rights, or who has a well-founded fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. … and [relatives can be sponsored](http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/index.asp): > [@Government of Canada](#): > > If you are a citizen or permanent resident of Canada and at least 18 years old, you can sponsor certain relatives to come to Canada under the Family Class. These can be: > •your spouse, > •your conjugal or common-law partner, > •your dependent child (this includes an adopted child) or > •other eligible relatives. > > If your family member can become a permanent resident, they can live, study and work in Canada. … and [employees can be sponsored](http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/hire/): > [@Government of Canada](#): > > If you are an employer, there are several programs you can use to: > •hire a foreign worker temporarily, > •offer a full-time job to support a skilled worker’s immigration to Canada, or > •offer a paid internship to a permanent resident or a new Canadian citizen. But as far as sponsorship by charity of any randomly chosen individual is concerned, I can’t find anything. But then, why would a legitimate charity want to do this anyway. ---
**Author:** ![jiHymas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/9 "2014-07-11T07:35:17Z")
Oh, and [provinces can sponsor anybody](http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/provincial/index.asp): > [@Government of Canada](#): > > Almost all of Canada’s provinces and territories can nominate people to immigrate to Canada. These people have the skills, education and work experience they need to contribute to the economy of that province or territory. > > To apply under the Provincial Nominee Program, you must: > •be nominated by a specific Canadian province or territory, then > •apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to become a permanent resident of Canada. > > Each participating province and territory has its own nomination guidelines. They can change without notice. You should check their websites for the most up-to-date information. … but again, this doesn’t meet the OP’s specific scenario. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/10 "2014-07-11T12:32:25Z")
You have to be very careful of nuances when talking about the Palestine problem. John Manley suggested Canada would welcome Palestinian immigrants after a peace settlement. Given the west’s general tendency to support Israel, this could also be interpreted as telling the Israelis to go ahead and take whatever land they wanted from Palestine, and Canada would be a safety valve for any displaced Palestinians. Any statement that seems to encourage the Israeli side to displace more people, or suggests a form of blackmail (“no immigrants until you sign…” was one interpretation) will result in a backlash from he Palestinian community. The Canadian Embassy is in Tell Aviv, so anyone wanting to immigrate to Canada AFAIK has to show up there in person, numerous, times, wait years for the process to complete. Their chances are iffy without training in an in-demand job (medical, high tech, engineers, etc.) Since it’s pretty much impossible for the average Gaza resident to wander into Israel, they probably are not going to be doing multiple visits to the Canadian embassy over the course of a few years. They are not forbidden from immigrating here, it’s just logistically impossible without help from friends in high places. ---
**Author:** ![Hooleehootoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eada6e/32.png) [@Hooleehootoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hooleehootoo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/11 "2014-07-11T17:19:46Z")
> [@jiHymas](#): > > But then, why would a legitimate charity want to do this anyway. I guess there are no such charities, but that is not because they would be illegitimate. What would be illegitimate about sponsoring poor Irish to come to the U.S. in 1850? If some families want to stay in Gaza indefinitely still dreaming of recovering their ancestral property in Ra’anana or someplace, they can try, but for those ready to quit an overcrowded postage stamp of a country, it would be wonderful if only they could do so. Thanks for the material on Canada. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/12 "2014-07-11T17:30:01Z")
An illegitimate charity might take the notion that should a family express an interest in leaving a concentration camp run by crazies with guns, who have no problem antagonizing the neighbour with big bombs, where the water quality is so poor it causes liver damage, where there is no educational or economic opportunities, where even medical supplies can be embargoed as a pressure tactic, where women and children are bombed or beaten by both sides, where the local “authorities” don’t see anything wrong with recruiting your children, even the mentally handicapped ones, as suicide bombers - maybe the charitable thing would be to help that family if they want to leave? ---
**Author:** ![1224rattusrattus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ec9cab/32.png) [@1224rattusrattus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1224rattusrattus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/13 "2014-07-12T19:57:50Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > As I understand it, they have the option to ask for Israeli citizenship, but essentially it’s a Hobsons Choice. The Israelis demand they then renounce all other citizenships, which would make them social pariahs and likely targets of revenge killings; so Israel has the moral high ground of saying “we offered”, knowing there would be almost no takers. This Palestinian attitude to citizenship is interesting. Compare it to 1970’s-1990’s Irish Republicanism in Northern Ireland. Supporters of the IRA had few qualms about carrying a British passport- it’s just a meaningless paper document to them that doesn’t dilute their Irish identity. Similarly it’s not taboo for a republican to work for most government departments, with the exception of the police, military & justice system- as working for a relatively harmless civil service organisation doesn’t necessarily mean you support the British state overall. And most of all it was never considered unpatriotic to accept British welfare payments (though unemployed people had little choice it was that or starve)- if anything you were contributing to the republican cause by depriving the British state of funds. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/14 "2014-07-12T21:23:05Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I thought that Gaza and the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank were both the same country. Can a Gaza-ite not travel to the West Bank the same way an Alaskan can move to Illinois? For awhile it was like China. You had two separate governments after 2007, each saying they were the sole legitimate government of the entire country. On the ground, the Fatah-supported government controlled the West Bank and the Hamas-supported government controlled the Gaza Strip. This changed last month when the two governments reached an agreement and formed a unified government. ---
**Author:** ![jiHymas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/15 "2014-07-12T21:42:06Z")
> [@Hooleehootoo](#): > > What would be illegitimate about sponsoring poor Irish to come to the U.S. in 1850? Well, nowadays the potato famine would normally be relieved by food-aid - not to mention political pressure on the British government and establishment to stop exacerbating the situation. My suggestion is that as miserable as the Palestinian situation is, there are many who are worse off and more likely to receive charitable assistance as refugees. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/16 "2014-07-13T00:07:03Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > That doesn’t actually show that Canada allows immigration from Gaza on the terms specified by the OP. It only says that some people from Palestine have been allowed to immigrate to Canada. I’d expect these are either refugees or people with skills that entered under an employment permit scheme, both of which could apply to anyone from any country who met the criteria rather than being specifically “allowing immigration from Gaza”. > > I’m not sure if the type of thing OP is talking about exists anywhere. Good point. It’s possible for anyone to immigrate anywhere _if they qualify under the applicable rules_. It is possible to immigrate to Canada - there are rules. Follow the rules, you can get a visa. Don’t qualify, or don’t follow the rules? No visa for you. I think the OP is envisioning an immigration policy saying more or less “Citizens of Country A are entitled to immigrate to Country B with no specific qualifications or permissions, they can just up and go”. Relatively few countries permit this - the EU might be an example where unrestricted immigration is largely permitted. Just finished college in Spain, and getting an itch to immigrate to Germany? Sure. I doubt there are any such “unrestricted entry” countries for Gaza Strip residents. But, as mentioned elsewhere, they _can_ qualify to immigrate to another country. They just have to qualify, e.g. through a job offer, marriage \<3, refugee status, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/17 "2014-07-13T03:16:13Z")
> [@Hooleehootoo](#): > > Don’t count countries that only would grant a short-term tourist visa. As an example consider a family of husband, wife, 2 children ages 2-18 no specialized job skills. They would be supported by a grant from a hypothetical charity. Hardly any countries would allow such immigrants. Why would a country want to accept 4 impoverished people, with no job skills, no job waiting for them, and probably not even speaking the language? This would just be importing people to go on government assistance – most countries already have enough of their own citizens with dependent children and no job skills receiving government assistance. And no charity is going to commit to support the family for all the years until those children are adults. Countries will do this in special cases for humanitarian reasons, for specific people who face political persecution, but not for immigrants in general. Nearly all countries have requirements for immigration, and showing that you are able to support yourself and your family is a pretty standard requirement. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-allow-immigration-from-gaza/692806/18 "2014-07-13T20:52:39Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > So at this point, it is the world’s biggest concentration camp. When times get tough, the Israelis prevent supplies from entering. Until recently, Israel authorities used to bulldoze the house of the extended family if anyone was involved in a terrorist attack; now they just bomb them. Can’t understand why the Gaza people hate Israel’s guts? You don’t need Palestinian militants to persuade them. Israel tries to prevent armaments from entering Gaza. She has never prevented humanitarian supplies from entering. Israel bulldozed houses that were shielding rocket launchers during a land invasion. She is now bombing the sites that have rocket launchers, which include homes, schools, and mosques. She warns the residents before the bombing to leave but Hamas urges them to stay as that is good propaganda for Hamas (to have civilian deaths). It is a matter of self-defense. Would the USA allow Mexico to launch rockets into Texas? Hamas is responsible for the civilian casualties. If Hamas would stop the rockets, Israel would stop the bombing. It was Israel’s government who forcibly evicted her own people from the Gaza strip so that Palestinians could live there. but Hamas has usurped that land and uses it as a base for attacking Israel. BTW, it is “emigration from Gaza.” One emigrates from one place and immigrates to another.