Move follows months of pressure from MPs, academics and campaigners, with dozens of other students still stranded
Nine students in Gaza with full scholarships to study at British universities have been told the UK government is working to facilitate their evacuation.
The students – who have all been awarded Chevening scholarships, funded by the Foreign Office in recognition of their potential as future leaders – welcomed the development on Wednesday, but dozens more Palestinians in Gaza with university places are still awaiting news.
The breakthrough follows months of advocacy and campaigning by more than 100 MPs, university leaders and other civil society organisations. More than 80 Palestinian students in total have offers at UK universities, including 40 who have secured full scholarships.
Dr Nora Parr, a researcher at the University of Birmingham who has been coordinating efforts to support the students, said: “We received news of the government plans with mixed emotions. On the one hand, relief that indeed there is a shared sense of the importance and urgency of the students’ situation – and on the other our hearts sank. What about the rest? We must believe that this is only a start.”
