How the UK Can Help Civilians in Gaza

Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Its cowardly leaders have stated that they want to wipe Israel off the map. Its attack on Israeli civilians last month was truly evil. Hamas poses a severe threat to the very existence of Israel and its people and so the Israeli government is right to hunt down and destroy Hamas.

Hamas is also the biggest threat to the people of Gaza. Its cowardly leaders live in luxury while inciting young men to commit terrorist acts against innocent Israeli civilians, all at the behest of another evil regime: the Iranian government. All while the civilians of Gaza are oppressed and kept in poverty and under the constant threat of reprisals from Hamas and very little prospect of peace with Israel while Hamas remains in control.

It is these innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are now experiencing unimaginable suffering. As the campaign against Hamas by Israel intensifies, it is innocent men, women, and children who are being killed and maimed and with nowhere to flee for shelter. It is a humanitarian disaster.

In response to this, the UK should be prepared to welcome Palestinian civilians from Gaza to the country. This could look similar to the policy I proposed in a paper for the Adam Smith Institute last year where I argued that the visa system in the UK should be liberalised for Ukrainian nationals so that they would have the right to live, work, and study in the UK for a number of years. At the very least they should be granted asylum and given the right to work, as should all asylum seekers.

In an ideal world, there would be a system of open borders. However, this is not going to happen anytime soon and there are obvious security concerns over people coming to the country from Gaza. As such, the UK government should issue humanitarian visas with the priority being given to those in need of medical attention as well as children and their mothers. There should obviously be stringent security checks before a visa is granted to reduce the likelihood of somebody with links to Hamas being welcomed to the country. Palestinian civilians granted a humanitarian visa would be able to live, work, and study in the UK for up to three years.

The first reason is because it is the right thing to do. The majority of Palestinian civilians are just that: civilians. Palestinian civilians are not Hamas and do not support them. They are just ordinary people who want to live their lives in peace and provide a better life for their children. As such, we have a moral duty to help keep them safe from harm. We can do this by welcoming them to our country.

The UK also needs to be seen to play its part. This is because neighbouring states such as Egypt and Jordan probably would be more suitable choices for refugees from Palestine and so do need to accept refugees. However, we can’t expect these countries to simply open their borders if we also do not. The UK taking its fair share would show that we are determined to not place the entire burden on other Middle Eastern nations and should encourage these nations to welcome Palestinian civilians as well as allowing crucial aid supplies to enter Gaza.

A related point is that by welcoming Palestinians, the UK will counter the narrative peddled by extremist groups such as Hamas that the West hates the Palestinian people. By allowing them to live, work, and study here will undermine this argument and make it less likely that people are drawn into extremism.

Issuing visas to civilians from Gaza will also help the government to ‘Stop the Boats’. It is one of Rishi Sunak’s key pledges but his ill advised plan to send people to Rwanda was ruled to be unlawful by the Supreme Court. The humanitarian disaster in Gaza means that more and more people will risk their lives in an attempt to find safety in mainland Europe or the UK. The only way to stop the boats and take power away from the people smugglers is to open up safe and legal routes which allows those seeking asylum to be processed in a quick and efficient way before they arrive in the country. 

This will require more money being spent in order to have the staff and resources in place to process people more quickly. Ideally it will also mean fundamental reform of the Home Office which will involve splitting it into smaller departments and ultimately one where all people wishing to move to the UK are not treated like criminals. It will also require some humility on the part of the government by accepting that its current approach to stopping the boats is not only unlawful but also doomed to fail. Sunak will also need to be brave and be prepared to stand up to his backbenchers and members on the right of the Conservative Party.

Allowing Palestinian civilians to move to the UK will also dramatically increase the economic opportunities available to them. Not only is this a good thing in and of itself, again it could make them less likely to be drawn to extremist ideologies and violence. What causes a person to become a terrorist is obviously the result of a number of complex factors. 

What is more, the economics of terrorism is even more complex. For example, it was widely believed prior to 9/11 that poverty and a lack of education were largely to blame for terrorism. This was debunked by a paper which showed that Hezbollah terrorists were better educated and less likely to come from poverty than their peers in Lebanon.

However, it is impossible to deny the role played by economics. For example, we do know that economic downturns lead to an increase in the quality of terror attacks. By this I mean terrorist groups are more successful in their actions because high levels of deprivation and unemployment give terror groups greater access to individuals who are better educated and with more experience which increases the lethality of terrorist activities. 

What is more, the Palestinian Authority pays money to the families of suicide bombers and terrorists in prison based on the lethality of their attacks. Given that so-called ‘Pay for Slay’ is seen as an attractive option for so many young Palestinian men, it is clear that economics is a factor in drawing Palestinians into committing horrific acts of terror.

We also know that unstable and violent countries are breeding grounds for terrorism. As such, the West should be focussing on economic development in Palestine. The idea of peace, let alone economic growth, seem like unachievable goals right now.

However, it is not impossible. For example, the majority of Europe and huge swathes of Asia were decimated in the Second World War and other nations such as Vietnam have seen physical and economic destruction due to the ravages of war. These countries got reconstruction right – often with outside help There is still hope for Gaza. Allowing Palestinian civilians to live, work, and study in the UK can play a role in this.

This is because ‘Brain Drain’ is largely a myth. There is a great deal of evidence which shows that rather than damaging the prospects of the sending country, outward migration can actually increase growth.  For example, highly skilled migrants learn more skills in a more economically developed nation and can use those skills and their experience to contribute to the economic growth of their home nation if they return home to visit or work.

Migrants also tend to send remittances back to their home countries. Remittances have numerous economic benefits for developing nations such as investment, growth, and poverty alleviation. What is more, Immigration also tends to lead to stronger economic ties between the two countries. This boosts economic growth and improves living standards in the sending nation.

As such, if and when peace is restored in Gaza, increased immigration to Western nations has the potential to make a significant contribution to the economic development of Palestine; making the state both more prosperous and more secure. This will be good for the Palestinian people and good for the West.

The UK should be prepared to welcome Palestinian civilians from Gaza. This does not mean that I am advocating for every single Palestinian to move to the UK as other countries – including neighbouring ones – need to accept their fair share. It will no doubt be unpopular and will require more funding for the Home Office, but if Sunak is serious about stopping the boats and making long term and difficult decisions for the good of the nation, then he will do it.