Scottish Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said that while they were “warmly welcome”, she would be writing to the Foreign Secretary calling for urgent action on students who remain in the occupied territory and have been barred from bringing family with them.
On Sunday, Manar Al Houbi told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that she was informed just days before her evacuation from Gaza that her family would not be allowed to come with her – despite the Labour Government allowing other students’ families to enter the UK.
Al Houbi – who has a scholarship to study in Glasgow but has three children aged 3, 5, and 10 – is hoping to secure the right to bring them with her to Scotland.
READ MORE: Gaza students ‘blind’ as Labour tell BBC of visa decisions – not them
Gilruth said: “I am pleased to confirm a group of students from Gaza have now arrived safely in Scotland and will shortly be starting their courses at universities throughout the country.
“The Scottish Government has been pressing for more action from the UK Government so it is welcome the students are now arriving to start their scholarships. They are warmly welcome in Scotland, as are the first group of children who arrived for NHS Scotland medical treatment last week.
“I have written to the Foreign Secretary seeking an urgent Ministerial meeting on those students who have secured places in Scotland who have so far been denied by the Home Office the opportunity to bring their family with them.
“Given the horrors that these people have endured, the UK Government must act urgently to confirm that students with fully funded scholarships in place can bring their dependents.
“It is hard to imagine the trauma that they and their loved ones have experienced at home. It is now important they are afforded privacy to settle in and concentrate on their studies.
“I am sure they will be warmly welcomed on campus by their fellow students, and in the communities where they will be living.”
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The conflict in Gaza has had an appalling impact on education, with many children entirely unable to access schooling.
“Despite that, students in Gaza have shown incredible resilience and unwavering determination to pursue their studies against an appalling backdrop of death, destruction and famine.
“Talented students who have been awarded scholarships to UK universities need to be able to start their courses this autumn so I am very grateful to our partners, including the Government of Jordan, for working with us these past weeks to help them leave to take up their places.
“Our support also reflects the UK’s commitment to the future of post-war Gaza and its reconstruction, where educating the next generation will play a vital role.”
It comes after the UK Government announced on Sunday it would recognise a Palestinian state.
Australia, Canada, and Portugal have made similar announcements, while France is expected to formally recognise Palestine this week.
The moves from Western nations come amid a growing international consensus that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
