UK lawmakers call on government to introduce Gaza Family Visa Scheme

LONDON

As many as 24 lawmakers have called on the British government to launch a Gaza Family Visa Scheme, enabling Palestinians to reunite with their family members and seek temporary sanctuary in the UK.

In an early day motion moved by Labour and Co-operative MP Rachael Maskell asked the government to introduce a Gaza Family Visa Scheme based upon the Ukraine Family Scheme, which was launched in March 2022 after Russia's war started, allowing people living in the UK to sponsor a named Ukrainian national or family to come to live in the UK with them, providing they have suitable accommodation to offer.

On Tuesday, Maskell said that she has submitted the early day motion to the House of Commons and called on Brits to ask their MPs to sign it.

As of Wednesday morning, the motion had been signed by 24 lawmakers from the Labour Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Liberal Democrat, Green Party, Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, and Alliance Party, as well as four independent MPs.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in October 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 43,700 people have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and over 103,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.