Belgian government deadlock leaves 13 Gaza students unable to claim university scholarships

Thirteen students sit in Gaza with scholarships in hand, unable to move. They have been accepted to universities across Belgium—one to study public health in Antwerp, another communications at KU Leuven, a third to develop artificial intelligence systems for emergency response at the Free University of Brussels. All have passed competitive selection processes. All have been awarded full funding. None can leave.

The obstacle is not academic. It is bureaucratic and political. To claim their places, each student must apply for a visa in person—in Jerusalem, Cairo, or Jordan. Gaza's borders remain sealed. They cannot reach those cities. And Belgium's government, a five-party coalition led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever, has deadlocked on a plan to evacuate them.

Ahmed Abujami is 28, a doctor in Gaza with a one-year master's scholarship in public health. He told the Guardian he was devastated when the coalition failed to agree on Friday. "We have already lost so much because of the war," he said, "and now we are facing the possibility of losing another academic year." His hope was to gain skills he could bring back to rebuild Gaza's health system. Salwa Abu Elhaj, 23, lives in a tent with her family after their home was destroyed and she was forced to move multiple times during the conflict. She had earned a place to study communications sciences. "With every passing day, that hope becomes more difficult," she said. "I have worked very hard for this opportunity and it is heartbreaking to see it becoming uncertain because of circumstances that are completely outside my control." Ahmed Alsalibi, 39, a computer science professor, had been awarded a fellowship to develop systems that could one day help dispatch ambulances and emergency vehicles in Gaza. His visa was approved, but he too must collect it in person. "We hope that the government in the end will decide to help us," he said.

The deadlock stems from a collision between two separate policy fights within Belgium's government. On Monday, Maxime Prévot, the country's deputy leader and foreign minister, withdrew his proposal to evacuate the students. He said one coalition partner—the New Flemish Alliance party—had "completely rejected" the plan "unless we were prepared to make concessions on returns to Afghanistan and return hubs." Prévot called it an attempt to hold one issue hostage to another. "Faced with this attempt to hold one issue hostage to another at the expense of people already living in misery I chose to withdraw my proposal," he wrote. "Dignity is not for sale."

Anneleen Van Bossuyt, Belgium's asylum and migration minister and a member of the New Flemish Alliance, has been the primary voice opposing the students' entry. She argues that allowing them to come would create a precedent—a domino effect that could lead to family reunification requests or asylum claims. She has also linked the issue to her broader agenda: she wants stronger action on deporting convicted criminals from Afghanistan and irregular migrants more broadly. "Why wouldn't that apply to people from Yemen or Sudan? Or why not Afghan girls who want to study here?" she asked the public broadcaster VRT. The rectors from seven of the universities involved—including KU Leuven and the Institute of Tropical Medicine—published a joint statement calling the outcome outrageous. "These students are not illegal migrants," they wrote in De Standaard. "They were selected for a competitive scholarship by independent selection committees. The courses they are coming to take align with what Gaza will need for reconstruction. After their studies, they want to return there for that purpose."

What Belgium is attempting is not without precedent. Italy and the United Kingdom have both negotiated with Israel and neighboring countries over the past year to enable the evacuation of researchers and students from Gaza. The Guardian has seen official letters confirming the scholarships and, in Abujami's case, emails denying requests for remote visa applications. Yet Belgium's political divisions have stalled the process. The academic year is already underway at some institutions. Time is moving forward without them. "Our universities are waiting for us, our academic year is already moving forward and every day we remain trapped in Gaza puts our futures at greater risk," Abujami said. Van Bossuyt is expected to make a statement to parliament on Wednesday. The doors of the lecture halls remain open. The students remain trapped.