Palestinians in UK seek visa scheme for relatives in Gaza Strip

British Palestinians are escalating their campaign to bring their families over from Gaza.

More than 300 British-Palestinian families are petitioning their MPs and the Home Office to set up a scheme that would allow their relatives in Gaza to travel to the UK to escape the war.

The British government set up a similar programme after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

It allows Ukrainians with family members in the UK to stay in the country for up to three years.

Other such schemes exist for people from Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

“We’re just trying to save their lives,” British-Palestinian campaigner Sam Habeeb told The National.

His siblings, nieces and nephews are in Gaza, where they have been displaced three times since the conflict began. “We thought it would be the normal cycle of violence that lasts a few days or weeks. Now it’s been months,” he said.

A panel discussion on the issue took place at the House of Lords on Wednesday, and Mr Habeeb was among those who took part.

He said the number of Palestinians brought to the UK under such a scheme would be small.

“We’re not asking the British government to bring tens of thousands of Palestinians to the UK,” he told the House of Lords, adding that the families would need assurances of their return to Gaza after the war.

“The right of return is a red line for us as British Palestinians. The refugees should go back to their homes,” he said.

“Some Palestinians may go to Europe, the UK, some people will spend a few months in Egypt before going back to Gaza. But the majority would want to go back to their homes.”

About a dozen families attended the discussion and spoke about their experience. Representatives of NGOs were also present, along with MPs including Labour’s Kim Johnson and Claudia Webbe.

A spokeswoman for charity Love Bristol praised the “positive effects” of the Ukrainian visa scheme, and called for a similar programme for Palestinians.

“We’re offering something that is in the opposite spirit of war through a visa scheme,” she added.

Baroness Natalie Bennett, a Green Party peer who organised the discussion, said she planned to write an open letter to lobby MPs about a family resettlement scheme for Palestinians. She lamented the high costs British Palestinians currently have to pay to secure visas for their families.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.