The Home Office is reviewing the “first cases” after police forces were asked to refer foreign Hamas supporters so their visas may get revoked, immigration minister Robert Jenrick said on Sunday.
Mr. Jenrick said there have been “a number of referrals” since he made the request on Friday, and “the first cases are being considered by the home office.”
The deadly Israel-Hamas war has sparked vigils and demonstrations around the world attended by members of Jewish and Arab communities as well as anti-Israel activists.
Chants such as “from the river to the sea” echoed London Streets during large-scale rallies over the past three weekends.
A number of arrests have been made over suspected offences including throwing fireworks, criminal damage, and hate crimes.
Home Office ministers, Mr. Jenrick the immigration minister and Chris Philp the policing minister, wrote to chief constables in England and Wales, asking them to ensure there will be “zero-tolerance for antisemitism and the glorification of proscribed terrorist groups” in protests.
Hamas, a proscribed terrorist group in the UK, launched missiles and ground offensives on Oct. 7, killing over 1,400 Israelis, most of whom were civilians. The terrorists also took more than 200 hostages.
Pointing to arrests “as a result of pockets of disorder, violence, and hate” during pro-Palestinian protests in the UK, the ministers said it’s “completely unacceptable that some individuals present in the UK have decided to support terrorism and intimidate vulnerable communities.
The ministers said the individuals have abused the “special privilege” of having a UK visa, adding, “In these instances, the Home Office will not hesitate to enforce the law and revoke the visas of such individuals where their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good.”
They asked chief constables to use the existing referral mechanisms when the suspects are immigrants.
Asked how many referrals have been received, Mr. Jenrick told GB News on Sunday, “There have been a number of referrals and the first cases are being considered by the Home Office.
“I can’t comment on the individual cases but please be absolutely in doubt of how strongly we feel that those people who commit these crimes, people who spread hate in our country, they should be removed, they shouldn’t have a right to live in the UK and harm our citizens and British values,” he said.
Between Oct. 1 and Oct. 18, the Met received reports of 218 anti-Semitic offences, 14 times the number in the same period last year, while Islamophobic allegations more than doubled, from 42 to 101.
On Saturday, the Met arrested 10 people in a pro-Palestinian rally.
No Plan to Accept Gaza Refugees
Scotland’s First Minister Hamza Yusuf, whose in laws are stuck in Gaza, has said Scotland is “willing to be the first country in the UK to offer safety and sanctuary to those caught up in these terrible attacks.”Asked if the UK government will take in refugees from Gaza, Mr. Jenrick said, “I think that’s premature.
“The first step is to help British nationals out of Gaza and into safety,” he said, adding that the government is working with Egypt and other neighbouring countries to secure the safe passage for British nationals in Gaza.
“The second task, of course, alongside that is to get humanitarian aid into Gaza” and ensure the supplies don’t get “diverted by Hamas,” he said.
“And I don’t think that the first thing we should leap to, whenever there is a crisis in the world, is migration. The UK should be a big-hearted nation that plays an important role in supporting people in difficult situations, but usually, it is best to do that through diplomacy and through development aid,” he said.
Asked if he would rule out taking non-British refugees from Gaza, Mr. Jenrick said, “We don’t have a plan to do that.”
