US NGO ‘distressed' at suspension of visas for sick Palestinians
Laura Loomer, a social media personality and self-described 'proud Islamophobe,' told the New York Times that she had spoken to Rubio on Friday about the threat of 'Islamic invaders' using medical visas as a route to the US.
Heal Palestine focuses on bringing severely ill children to the US 'on temporary visas for essential medical treatment not available at home,' the group said in a statement.
'After their treatment is complete, the children and any accompanying family members return to the Middle East,' it added. 'This is a medical treatment program, not a refugee resettlement program.'
Another group started by Heal Palestine's founder Steve Sosebee, the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund, gained national attention when it helped bring a 2-year-old Palestinian girl named Rahaf and her mother Israa Saed to St. Louis, Missouri, to be fitted with prosthetic legs.
Rahaf's case gained national attention after she was later filmed singing and dancing with American YouTube star Ms Rachel.
In a post on X, the State Department said: 'All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days.'
Rubio told CBS on Sunday that he made the decision after 'numerous congressional offices' raised concerns about the visas, suggesting he knew of various groups 'bragging about and involved in acquiring these visas (which) have strong links to terrorist groups like Hamas.'
Loomer later suggested on social media that Sosebee had links to Hamas for trying to reopen a hospital in Gaza damaged by Israeli military activity.
She was praised on social media by Republican members of Congress Charles Roy from Texas and Randy Fine from Florida for helping to get the medical visas suspended.
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Arab News
28 minutes ago
- Arab News
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Leaders
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Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Legal experts eye UN General Assembly action on Gaza
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