Urgent appeal for the UK to provide sanctuary for Palestinian refugees

No one in Gaza is safe at the moment. While we may feel powerless to help, we can use our collective voice to call for the UK to provide refuge for those fleeing the violence.

Despite the urgent humanitarian disaster faced by Palestinian families in Gaza, there is no specific UK scheme for those who have become refugees. The Scottish Government has written to formally request this, meaning that there is some political weight to calls for this to be implemented. Furthermore, a coalition of charities have drafted recommendations for how Britain could provide sanctuary to thousands of Palestinians from Gaza. Pressure from the public is all that’s needed to jumpstart the process.

The Green Party endorses the appeal from UK refugee charities for our government to create emergency pathways for those seeking refuge from the crisis in the Middle East.

The specific measures required to help the seriously injured and reunite families are as follows:

• medical evacuation for people in need of specialist care
• an emergency family reunion scheme modelled on the approach introduced in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
• an emergency refugee protection visa
• facilitated travel for UK nationals and those with the right to enter the UK
• prioritising cases of Israelis and Palestinians already in the UK asylum system

These proposals are set out in a briefing paper by the Refugee Council.

The lack of a plan for Palestinian refugees exposes the UK as unable to adequately respond to global disasters or conflicts. We must develop a permanent scheme for handling emergency situations. Our inconsistent approach results in different schemes for different nationalities, which adds complexity and obscurity over key elements, such as eligibility criteria. This, at a time when speed and clarity are vital.

The Green Party calls for a standardised set of procedures which facilitate safe passage for those facing the desperate decision to leave their homes. This process would be operationalised in emergency scenarios as they arise and warrant a response from the international community.

Shamefully, both Rishi Sunak and Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, have brushed off calls for a specific resettlement scheme for Palestinians. It’s left to us to make this call impossible to ignore.

We must act now to protect civilians forced to flee from their homes.

Here are some actions you can take:

• Share this statement on social media
• Send this statement, highlighting the Refugee Council briefing, to your MP

Crucially, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which was established to aid and protect Palestinian refugees, has admitted that it is “no longer able to provide humanitarian assistance” due to the scale of the unfolding catastrophe. This statement has significant legal ramifications in that it increases the obligations on signatories to the UN refugee convention to take in Palestinians who manage to leave Gaza.

It must be remembered that, for many Palestinians, escaping Gaza is a last resort and an agonising decision, if a decision at all.

References:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/23/plan-for-uk-to-host-thousands-of-gaza-refugees-drawn-up-by-charities.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/israel-gaza-conflict-letter-to-uk-government-about-gaza-refugee-scheme/.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/uk-government-first-minister-scotland-gaza-strip-hamas-b2431202.html.

https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/latest/news/safe-passage-for-people-impacted-by-the-violence-in-israel-and-palestine/.

https://freemovement.org.uk/briefing-what-is-article-1d-of-the-refugee-convention/.