The British government will reopen its resettlement program prioritizing Palestinian refugees and Afghan women, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the Labour Party Conference on Monday.
Among other announcements, Mahmood confirmed the restarting of the resettlement route, in partnership with the United Nations, aimed at helping “vulnerable refugees from across the world and give them the chance of a new and better life here in Britain.”
She added that “around a quarter of those will be Afghan women and girls fleeing persecution by the Taliban, and Palestinians who have fled the horrors of Gaza.”
The scheme has been effectively suspended for the last two years, although it was never formally closed.
The reopening is likely to invite criticism and calls for more rigorous background checks. The need for such checks was highlighted after the Sunday Times revealed that a former bodyguard of assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, granted asylum and British citizenship, was recently arrested on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack against Jewish communities and Israelis in Europe around the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
Suspect reportedly served on Haniyeh’s security detail before moving to UK
According to the British newspaper’s investigation, the suspect, whose identity cannot be published for legal reasons and who is referred to as “Mr. X,” served on Haniyeh’s personal security detail in Gaza before moving to Britain more than a decade ago.
The UK’s Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) said it has written to the Home Secretary enquiring about how the resettlement scheme will work in practice, specifically how identity and security checks will work and whether new arrivals will undergo “cultural orientation” to address antisemitism.
JLC also said it is seeking an estimate of how many refugees are planning to be accepted and “the steps which can be taken to remove a person if serious security concerns emerge after arrival.”
“With extremism and antisemitism in Britain at a deeply troubling level, these questions deserve answers,” JLC said.
“Britain can offer sanctuary to those genuinely facing persecution while protecting the safety of the communities in which they will make their homes, upholding the values of the country we love.”
Labour Party conference
Interestingly, while it was expected that much of the debate at the Labour Party conference would be focused on Israel, delegates rejected making Israel a priority topic.
According to Jewish News, the Middle East finished eighth in this year’s Priorities Ballot, despite significant efforts by pro-Palestine campaigners.
Much of the conference debate instead focused on subjects such as knife crime, fair housing, and transport.