Alf Dubs calls for UK to open Palestinian refugee scheme

The Labour peer Alf Dubs has said the UK should embark on a resettlement scheme for Palestinians in coordination with other European states and international bodies such as the UN.

He said the scheme for Palestinians in Gaza should be based on the type of schemes that helped Ukrainians who had escaped Russia’s invasion, and while offering them a temporary home here, could also provide permanent residence.

The peer said the scheme would also involve security vetting, and would focus heavily on allowing women and children to escape the crisis in Gaza.

Dubs, who was brought to Britain from Czechoslovakia on one of the kindertransport trains in 1939, argued that the scheme could work in conjunction with a move by Egypt open the Rafa crossing in the south of Gaza.

“There would of course be political pressure on people in Gaza not to leave because it would be a case of Palestinians leaving that territory, but having said that there will always be people who need medical help and have connections [to the UK],” he said.

He added:“It would encourage Egypt. They don’t want everybody going into Sinai. Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of that, it could mean they would be more willing to allow people to come through were there to be a scheme in place.”

The Guardian reported that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been sending messages to British nationals in Gaza to check on their welfare and informing them that Israeli authorities have said a “humanitarian area” has been set up in the south of the enclave.

Dubs said he had been deeply affected by the impact of the Hamas terror attack on Israel adding it was a “painful experience and of course I feel it.”

He also spoke of his concern over the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia in the UK.

He said:”“There has always been an undercurrent of antisemitism and Islamophobia, for a long time, and this potentially could be more serious because what is happening in Israel and Gaza is so awful,” he said. “I fear, for example, when there are people demonstrating in support of Hamas.”