Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked says that a High Court petition against Israel’s policy on accepting Ukrainian refugees is “pointless.”
“The petition is pointless and rude,” she tells a Knesset committee hearing. “The authority to enter Israel is in the hands of the interior minister… Israel has in total absorbed an even larger number than Britain.”
Israel has said that any Ukrainian refugees with family in Israel will be granted entry, as well as all those who qualify for citizenship under the Law of Return. Outside of that, Shaked has said that 5,000 additional Ukrainian refugees would be allowed into the country in addition to the 20,000 in Israel before the war started.
A petition to the Supreme Court argued that Shaked does not have the authority to limit entry to Ukrainians as per the countries’ visa agreements, and that Israel is party to international treaties that require it to allow in refugees.
As of yesterday, more than 15,000 Ukrainians had arrived in Israel, including close to 4,500 eligible for citizenship.
Shaked is slated to meet today with Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk, who has backed the petition against Israel’s current policy.
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