Waltham Forest Migrant Action has joined the Refugee Council and other migrant and refugee rights organisations to urge the UK government to provide safe passage for those in need of safety from the violence in Palestine and Israel.

We urge the UK Government to put in place:

• Medical evacuation for people in need of specialist care;
• An emergency family reunion scheme modelled on the approach introduced in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine;
• An emergency refugee protection visa;
• Facilitated travel for UK nationals and those with the right to enter the UK; and
• Prioritising cases of Palestinians and Israelis already in the UK asylum system.

As well as urgently supporting all of the above, we are concerned that Palestinians who leave the region are at risk of never being able to return.

As a charity supporting and campaigning on behalf of migrants and refugees, we urge the UK government to call for a ceasefire, in line with UN recommendations, and an immediate end to the escalating violence, which is leading to a huge death toll.

We also call for an end to the forced displacement of Palestinians and the widespread destruction of their homes and businesses.