Palestinians looking to flee Gaza have been granted the right to live in the United Kingdom by applying through a program meant for Ukrainian refugees, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
A British immigration judge ruled that a family of six would be allowed to join their brother, stating that rejecting their application breached their human rights.
According to The Telegraph, the family applied to live in Britain through the Ukraine Family Scheme, which allowed Ukrainian nationals to join family members in the UK for up to 3 years.
Lawyers for the British Home Office have warned that approving the application could create a loophole for “the admission of all those in conflict zones with family in the UK.”
The family applied using the Ukraine scheme in January 2024, claiming it best fit their circumstance and that their situation was so “compelling and compassionate” that it should be an exception to the rule.
The UK has not created a program for Gazan refugees
The claim was initially refused on the basis that only Parliment could decide which countries should benefit from resettlement programs, and Gazans overall had not been approved.
However, Judge Hugo Norton-Taylor overturned the ruling and granted the family’s appeal on the basis of Article 8 right to a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Despite the ruling, the Home Office has not created a resettlement scheme for people from Gaza and has stated it would contest similar claims in the future, The Telegraph reported.
“There are two million people in Gaza alone and tens of millions around the world in conflict zones, many of whom will have relations living in the UK. We obviously cannot accommodate all of them,” shadow home secretary Chris Philp said.
He stated that the case showed the UK needed to change its human rights laws so that only Parliament, not judges, had the final say on who could live in the UK.
The case, revealed in court documents, sparked criticism on Tuesday. Mr. Philp said it was an “alarming and dangerous” judgment, which created “a basis for anyone in any conflict zone anywhere in the world with relations in the UK to come here.”
“The UK has generously helped people in Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong with specific humanitarian schemes. We cannot have judges simply making up new schemes based on novel and expansive interpretations of human rights law,” he said.
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