UK to allow around 40 Gaza students to take up scholarships

LONDON

The UK government on Tuesday agreed to allow around 40 Palestinian students from Gaza to come to the UK in the coming weeks to take up funded university scholarships.

According to the BBC, nine of the students have been told they will be given assistance to leave Gaza under the Chevening scheme, a predominantly government-funded initiative that offers one-year master’s degrees to international students.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has reportedly approved plans to help about 30 others with fully funded scholarships through private schemes.

They would be the first students permitted to leave Gaza for study in the UK amid Israel’s genocidal conduct in Gaza. However, each departure remains dependent on approval from Israel.

The decision follows months of campaigning by politicians, academics and others on behalf of more than 80 Palestinian students holding offers from UK universities this year.

The students will face significant logistical hurdles leaving the war zone, as they are expected to travel to a third country in the region for visa biometric checks before being brought to the UK.

The decision comes at a time of strained relations between the UK and Israel, after Britain said in September it would recognize a Palestinian state if Israel did not meet certain conditions linked to its war in Gaza.

Israel has killed nearly 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

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