France to halt Gaza arrivals pending probe into student's antisemitic posts

France will suspend its programme to receive Palestinians from conflict-torn Gaza pending the outcome of an investigation into how a student accused of sharing antisemitic posts was allowed into the country, the French foreign minister said Friday.

The move comes after officials said the female student from Gaza will have to leave France after the Sciences Po university in the northern city of Lille revoked her accreditation over the online posts.

“No evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn conclusions from this investigation,” Jean-Noel Barrot told Franceinfo radio.

All Gazans who have entered France will undergo a second screening, he added.

France has helped more than 500 people leave Gaza since the latest war between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel started, including wounded children, journalists, students and artists.

The conflict, triggered by Hamas’s murderous October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has seen Israel retaliate with a deadly military campaign and an aid blockade in Gaza that some rights groups have qualified as “genocide”.

Lille’s chief prosecutor told AFP on Thursday a probe had been opened against the student for allegedly trying to “justify terrorism” and “justify a crime against humanity”.

Screenshots of posts the student allegedly shared in September — published by pro-Israel accounts on X — include an image of Adolf Hitler and words appearing to call for the death of Jews.

The account attributed to the student has been taken offline, after French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau demanded it be closed down.

A French diplomatic source said the student arrived in France on July 11 on a scholarship based on “academic excellence” and after “security checks”.

AFP was not immediately able to reach the student for comment. The news agency is not identifying her at this stage of the investigation.

“She must leave the country”, the foreign minister confirmed, adding that discussions were ongoing to determine her destination.