Stop the Double Standards and Let Palestinian Students Leave Gaza

Positive Action in Housing is increasing pressure on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to immediately grant UK visas for 80 Palestinian students trapped in Gaza, who have secured fully funded university places and are due to begin courses in weeks.

France, Ireland, Belgium and Germany have already evacuated Palestinian students from Gaza. The UK must follow suit by deferring biometric checks until they arrive—just as it did for Ukrainian refugees.

These students have studied through the worst imaginable circumstances. Imagine your home being bombed, your university destroyed, your lecturers killed. And yet they remained focused. Gaza has one of the highest numbers of advanced PhDs per capita in the world. We cannot leave them to die behind sealed borders because of red tape. We need to get them out now.

These students are not refusing to comply—they can’t. The biometric centre was destroyed in 2023. They are living under aerial assault, queuing at bombed aid sites, watching famine spread.

This is life and death. Bureaucratic excuses are indefensible.

These students are Sophie’s choice. If we don’t bring them here to take up their places, we risk leaving them to die. There is no neutral ground.

As Barry Gardiner said: “These students are the future of Palestine.” Denying them entry is not just cruel—it is a calculated blow to Palestine’s ability to rebuild. It is structural erasure, masked as policy.

It is chilling to note that Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, in response to calls for action, stated biometric checks must not be waived. In one of the most defining humanitarian crises of our time, it seems some politicians still have to learn what compassion means.

Chris Philp effectively wants to sign a death sentence for 80 Palestinian students—but he didn’t say that when the UK waived biometric requirements for Ukrainians in 2022. Why the selective compassion now? Any refusal exposes racist double standards at the heart of British policy.

You cannot demand compliance with a procedure that is physically impossible under siege, bombardment, and famine. These students have only one hope: confirmed university places in the UK. And he wants to take that away?

Biometric data can be collected post-arrival or in a safe third country like Jordan, but the UK must offer safe passage.

Philp also implies that one potential security risk is reason enough to block all 80 students. That’s collective punishment. As Barry Gardiner rightly said: “You don’t say, ‘somebody might break the law, so we’re not going to allow anybody to come.’” This logic mirrors the same moral absurdity used to justify bombing civilians.

Our supporters across the UK are writing to their MPs and calling on the Home Secretary to do the right thing. Follow the lead of other European governments. Act now, before it’s too late. These students must be evacuated immediately so they can start their courses in September. We are ready to house Palestinians through our volunteer hosts in our Room for Refugees programme. We must move the earth to get people out of Gaza.

To support this campaign and put pressure on your MP, visit this page.