Israel said to freeze plan to take in 100 Syrian child refugees

Israel has put the brakes on a plan reported last month to grant refugee status to 100 orphaned Syrian refugee children, according to Israel Radio.

In line with a decision by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, the children were set to receive temporary resident status and become permanent residents after four years, and be able to remain in Israel for their entire lives. Channel 10 said that the children were to be integrated into Arab Israeli families. Furthermore, any of the children’s immediate relatives were also to be considered for refugee status.

But the plan has now reportedly come up against opposition from within the government.

Despite agreement from various government agencies last month, no further efforts have been made to advance the program, the report says.