https://arab.news/v843r
- Around 40 students will receive scholarships for upcoming academic year for first time since outbreak of war
- But they require Israel’s approval to leave Palestinian enclave
LONDON: The UK will allow around 40 students to travel from Gaza to attend British universities, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
The plan will see the students awarded scholarships, with nine receiving government-backed Chevening scheme funding for one-year master’s degrees, and the rest securing funds from private programs.
The students will be allowed to leave Gaza once they receive permission to travel from Israeli authorities.
They will become the first to leave the Palestinian enclave to study in the UK since the outbreak of the war in October 2023.
However, relations between the UK and Israel have become frosty since Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to potentially recognize a Palestinian state earlier this year.
The students will need to travel to a third country in order to complete biometric visa applications before being allowed to head to the UK.
Britain will join other European nations — including France, Italy and Ireland — in approving evacuation routes for students with places to study at universities in each country.
A UK Home Office source told the BBC that the plan for the students is “complex and challenging.”
Several of the students told the corporation that they fear for their safety in Gaza while awaiting approval to travel.
British politicians have campaigned for months to allow around 80 Gazan students with offers from universities to study in the UK. It is unclear if the remaining students with places to study will be able to attend their courses.
There is also a movement to allow critically ill Gazan children to head to the UK for vital medical treatment.
Israel has killed at least 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023.