Thank you to those who wrote to me about barriers to Gazans accessing the UK family reunion visa scheme.

Let me start by making clear that the forced displacement of Gazans is unacceptable, so the priority following an immediate ceasefire must be for those who have left to be able to return to their homes and their land, to begin to rebuild their lives, and to ensure that their displacement does not become permanent.

Nevertheless, I share the concerns raised by many that Palestinians currently trapped in Gaza are facing insurmountable barriers to accessing family reunion visas because they cannot submit the necessary biometrics without travelling to Egypt, which for many is currently impossible.

That’s completely unacceptable, which is why Labour is calling on the government to allow eligible Gazans to have family visa applications assessed and approved in principle, with biometric data then submitted in Egypt prior to travel to the UK. And we also want the Foreign Office to ensure that all those who hold UK visas or are eligible for family reunion are assisted to leave Gaza in order to submit the necessary biometric data.

That is what is needed to ensure that the UK’s family visa scheme is fully operational for Gazans, and – as was permitted for Ukrainian refugees – I see no reason why the same policy cannot be applied to them, given the appalling and extraordinary circumstances they are facing. So please rest assured that Labour will continue to pressure the government to do the right thing when it comes to making the family visa scheme operational for Gazans.

But above all else, I and my Labour colleagues will continue to do all we can to push for an immediate ceasefire, to secure the release of the remaining hostages, and to halt the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. And we must never lose sight of the bigger picture, which is the need not just to end this appalling conflict but to redouble our efforts to achieve a lasting peace and a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

Throughout my work as the MP for Islington South and Finsbury, and during my time as shadow Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2020, my only priority regarding events in the Middle East has been to consider what position takes us further towards that goal of a two-state solution, and what position would take us further away. We must keep striving to permanently break the cycle of violence, which has trapped generation after generation of ordinary people in Israel and Palestine in endless rounds of division, bitterness, escalation, and death, from which nothing good can occur, least of all the future of stability, security, and lasting peace which all people of goodwill wish to see.