Chairman Ofer Shelah of the Yesh Atid Knesset faction has welcomed the cancellation of the expulsion of the infiltrators and the formulation of an outline for deporting about 16,000 of them to Western countries. He said, "The move is important and worthy at the national and international levels. It comes late, after years of delays and evasions and a lot of venomous and harmful rhetoric, but it should be welcomed."
Shelah continued, "The refugees who will be absorbed in Israel should be dispersed throughout the country and should be absorbed as Israel knows how to absorb people. And the main emphasis now must be on the neighborhoods of South Tel Aviv: an emergency plan for the rehabilitation of neighborhoods must be implemented immediately, in order to restore the living conditions to which the residents are entitled."