LONDON: The UK is blocking the evacuation of dozens of women and children from Gaza, The Guardian reported on Monday.
The Home Office’s position comes despite the Foreign Office declaring its readiness to arrange departures from the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
Last September, the Home Office said it was suspending refugee family reunion applications. New restrictive rules were also announced for spring this year, though no update has been announced.
Palestinians who applied before the announced changes are still having their applications processed.
However, those in Gaza with immediate family members in the UK who applied for reunification even before the suspension have been blocked from joining relatives.
The Home Office and Foreign Office are responsible for organizing evacuations from Gaza. Palestinian families who have a right to leave Gaza are evacuated via Jordan.
However, their onward travel assurance is not being processed by the Home Office, which is filing legal challenges to block the families from traveling to the UK.
Lawyers representing the families enduring life-threatening conditions in Gaza warn that the Home Office is employing more scrutiny toward Palestinians than refugee applicants from other countries.
In some cases, the Home Office has said applicants’ family members pose a security risk to Britain because they come from a “territory where terrorists operate,” the lawyers said.
Law firm Leigh Day is representing some of the Palestinian relatives trapped in Gaza as they hope to be reunited with their family members in Britain.
Sarah Crowe, a solicitor at the firm, said the UK government has “abandoned” the vulnerable families.
In response to a request for comment by The Guardian, a Home Office spokesperson said: “Under our reforms to create a fairer asylum system, family reunion will no longer be automatic. Those seeking to bring family members to the UK will need to meet stricter criteria.”
