A blueprint setting out how Britain could provide refuge to thousands of Palestinians from Gaza has been drawn up by a coalition of charities and groups.
Organisations including the Refugee Council, Safe Passage International, Doctors of the World, Helen Bamber Foundation and City of Sanctuary have raised concerns about the conflict worsening the Palestinian refugee crisis.
They are urging the UK government to introduce an emergency family reunion scheme modelled on the initiative for Ukrainians and carry out out a medical evacuation for people in need of specialist care.
Other actions being called for include the prioritisation of cases of Palestinians and Israelis already in the UK asylum system, along with facilitated travel for UK nationals and those with the right to enter the UK.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the UK must be ready to play a role in the refugee crisis.
“As the conflict worsens the number of Palestinian men, women and children displaced and those facing grave danger will only increase,” he said. “People who aren’t secure and safe in their homes need access to safety and the UK must be ready to play a role by implementing a package of emergency measures at short notice.”
Meetings are to be sought with the UK government about the proposals, which are set out in a briefing paper by the Refugee Council and supported by the other organisations. They build on approaches taken by the British government in response to the conflict in Afghanistan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in thousands taking refuge in Britain under resettlement schemes.
They also echo a call made last week by the veteran Labour peer, Alf Dubs, for a permanent scheme that the UK could turn to when emergency situations arise.
Solomon said: “Responses to recent major conflicts have resulted in different schemes for different nationalities, all with separate and often complex eligibility criteria and unclear funding regimes. Instead of this ad hoc and inconsistent approach, a standard set of measures to provide safe passage to those who need it should be operationalised as and when a crisis warrants such a response.”
The proposals stress that the package of emergency measures must also work alongside an asylum system that processes people’s claims in a fair and effective way, and safe routes into the UK.
“Those safe routes should include a bold and ambitious multi-year resettlement commitment, wider family reunion pathways, and the piloting of a refugee visa that allows people to travel safely in order to apply for asylum in the UK,” it adds.
The organisations envisage that the plans would be subject to security vetting. In the case of a proposed family reunion scheme – under which people affected by the conflict could join family members in the UK – applications would be submitted online by a UK-based family member.
Calls for a UK resettlement scheme for Palestinian refugees have been made in parliament by the leader of the Scottish National party’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, who made a direct appeal to Rishi Sunak during prime minister’s questions.
Sunak did not address calls for a resettlement scheme, but did say the UK was “one of the most significant contributors to the United Nations’ efforts to support Palestinian refugees”.
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, brushed off calls for a specific scheme for Palestinians when asked about the idea on Sky News’s Sunday Morning programme, saying the priority was getting British nationals out of Gaza.
“We already have a global scheme, which is operated by the United Nations on our behalf and they choose individuals,” he said. “The idea of the cap is that we consult local authorities across the country, better understand what capacity there is, and if there is further capacity then think about increasing a scheme like that so that more people can come.”
Pressed over whether there might be a specific scheme for Palestinians, he said: “At the moment, priority is simply to get the British nationals out of Gaza and to ensure there is as much humanitarian relief there. That’s the first step.
“It’s quite a long way ahead before we could reach the point where we might be able to see more people leaving Gaza. At the moment Egypt, for example, is not willing to admit refugees, and we understand the reasons behind that.”
The number of internally displaced people across the Gaza Strip is estimated at around 1 million, according to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, a UN agency working with Palestinian refugees.
