Belgium's Coalition Split Leaves 13 Gaza Scholars Without a Way Out

Belgium's five-party coalition government could not agree on an evacuation plan for 13 Palestinian students and researchers in Gaza who hold scholarships at Belgian universities.

The deadlock means the group will likely miss the start of classes for fall 2026 while still unable to leave the Strip. The students said they were devastated after the plan stalled, according to The Guardian.

The coalition is led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever. A coalition means several parties govern together and must agree to act. Brussels set aside the evacuation plans last week. University leaders condemned the decision on Monday, as reported by Asharq Al-Awsat.

Three scholarship holders show the range of fields. Ahmed Abujami is a 28-year-old doctor in Gaza with a scholarship for a one-year master's degree in public health at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp. Salwa Abu Elhaj is a 23-year-old graduate with a place to study communications sciences at KU Leuven. Ahmed Alsalibi is a 39-year-old computer science professor awarded a fellowship at the Free University of Brussels (ULB) in May 2024.

All face the same visa problem. Belgian visas for the Gaza students can only be applied for in person in Jerusalem or Cairo, but the students are blocked from leaving Gaza. Alsalibi's visa has been approved but must be collected in person in Cairo, Jordan or Jerusalem, leaving the authorization out of reach while exit remains closed.

Rectors from seven of the academic institutions involved published a joint article saying they were outraged by the government's failure to agree on evacuation. The rectors of Belgium's top 10 universities expressed "dismay" at the refusal, in language reported on 14 September.

Belgium has carried out evacuations from Gaza before. On December 4, 2024, B-FAST evacuated several young patients from Gaza and their caretakers to Belgium for medical care, according to Belgium's foreign ministry. B-FAST, the Belgian emergency aid service, had earlier planned to evacuate young patients from Gaza who were in Egypt, along with their companions, to Belgium for emergency medical assistance. In its review of diplomacy in 2025, Belgium's FPS Foreign Affairs stated that Gaza was high on the agenda for diplomatic efforts, evacuation of entitled persons and humanitarian aid.

Other European states have found routes. Italy and the UK are among European countries that negotiated with Israel and neighbouring countries in the last year to enable evacuation of researchers and students from Gaza.

The broader context here is about governing as much as paperwork. A five-party cabinet built for domestic compromise can struggle to approve a politically sensitive extraction from a war zone. Belgium's universities recruited the students, secured funding, and now publicly challenge the state that accredits them. If the scholarships lapse for fall 2026 without a corridor comparable to those arranged by London or Rome, Brussels will have to manage both the diplomatic signal sent to partners engaged in Gaza evacuations and the domestic signal sent to rectors who describe the outcome as a failure of responsibility.