Israel Prepared To Host Up To 25,000 Ukrainians Temporarily

Israel says it is ready to take in up to 5,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion and allow 20,000 other Ukrainians who arrived prior to the fighting to remain temporarily.

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked outlined the policy at a news conference, in which she also said Israel was bracing for the possible influx of tens of thousands of Ukrainians whose Jewish heritage affords them immigrant status under Israeli law.

Shaked said the country will host temporarily about 20,000 Ukrainian citizens who resided, most of them illegally, in Israel before the fighting broke out.

Shaked said the up to 5,000 Ukrainian citizens allowed in to escape the current fighting would receive a three-month visa and be allowed to seek employment if the situation did not change in Ukraine.

The European Union said on Tuesday its member states had so far taken in two million refugees fleeing the Russian invasion and expected millions more to follow.

Israel has been engaged in diplomatic efforts to try to end the war in Ukraine. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin and spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

In a readout of the call, the Kremlin said Putin had told Bennett about Moscow’s assessment of the third round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials that took place on Monday.