Republican congressman proposes bill to stop Palestinians from entering US

A Republican congressman has introduced a bill proposing a ban on the entry of Palestinians to the US.

Representative Ryan Zinke, who currently sits in the US House of Representatives, introduced the Safeguarding Americans from Extremism Act along with 10 Republican colleagues on Thursday, including Representative Majorie Taylor Greene.

The proposed bill would stop any Palestinians with a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority from entering the US, alongside a host of other restrictions.

These include the banning and revoking of visas after 1 October, a ban on granting asylum status and temporary protected status and revocation of said status if requested from 1 October, a ban and revoking of parole from 1 October and issuing a crackdown on Palestinians without lawful status by US immigration agencies.

The legislation also refers to Palestinians as "covered aliens" which are defined as "an alien who is a holder of a passport or other travel document issued by the Palestinian Authority."

During the release, Zinke said: "I don't trust the Biden Administration any more than I do the Palestinian Authority to screen who is allowed to come into the United States."

"This is the most anti-Hamas immigration legislation I have seen and it's well deserved," he added.

Zinke was previously secretary of the Department of Interior under then-President Donald Trump, during which Trump had called for a ban on Muslims entering the US.

Trump placed restrictions on people entering the US from a number of Muslim-majority countries following his election.