Former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib has highlighted the "real risk" of the UK hosting Palestinian refugees, as the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict escalates.
Since the start of the conflict on October 7, more than 1.4 million Gaza residents have been displaced across the narrow strip.
Over 6,500 Palestinians have been killed as a result of the attacks, started by terrorist organisation Hamas.
International pleas were made after trucks of humanitarian aid were blocked on the Egypt-Gaza border, which have now been allowed into Gaza.
Ben Habib warned that refugees will have 'incarcerated hostile views of the west'
GB News
Calls for neighbouring countries to take in refugees have been fought back by leaders in the Middle East.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said earlier this month that the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt "means the same displacement will take place for Palestinians from the West Bank into Jordan".
He added: "Subsequently, the Palestinian state that we are talking about and that the world is talking about will become impossible to implement -- because the land is there, but the people are not.
"Therefore, I warn of the danger of this matter."
Discussing the possibility of the UK taking in Palestinian refugees, Habib told GB News that it is "not a proposition that can be enacted".
He stated: "The only way out of Gaza at the moment is through the Rafah border, which in fact is being blockaded by Egypt, a neighbouring Muslim country. And they don't want people coming out of Gaza because the last time their border was penetrated, tens of thousands of Gazans came with Palestinians from Gaza, came into Egypt.
"And since then, actually Egypt has reinforced its border dramatically. And they're the ones who are restricting not just people coming out, but aid going into Gaza at the moment. Which brings me on to my second point. There are 23 Arab countries in and around Gaza that are not reaching out to assist Palestinians in Gaza. And there's a reason for that."
Habib continued: "The vast majority of Arab state are sick and tired of the conflict being promoted by Hamas and you know, through Gaza and Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, others, including Saudi Arabia, which is on the on the verge of reaching a deal with the US to recognise Israel, which would have resulted in quite a substantial shift of power in favour of Saudi away from Iran, are not reaching out to the Palestinians."
Jennifer Nadel argued that there are 'defenceless children' in need of refuge
GB News
Habib then warned of the risk to the UK: "It's not for the United Kingdom. I think that people really need to take on board is that Hamas is a terrorist organisation that has been governing Gaza for the last 17 years. It is educated Palestinians in Gaza.
"It is incarcerated in them the hostile views that they have to the West, which is nothing short of as far as Israel is concerned, it's total destruction. And if we were to take in Palestinians from Gaza, there is a very real risk that they will come to the United Kingdom with great antipathy in their hearts, discontent and like we've seen with many others who've come across from the United Kingdom, that actually they do damage to the UK."
Disagreeing with Habib, Journalist and Activist Jennifer Nadel argued: "We are talking about children, we are talking about defenceless children and we are talking about their mothers. We're not talking about giving a refuge to Hamas and to conflate the two is really, really damaging and just not helpful.
"Anyone who was offered refuge in this country is going to feel nothing but gratitude. And you know what? What I would say to Ben is that if he were walking past a pond and saw a child drowning in it and looked and saw that that child was from an Arab nation, would you say, well, I'm not going to pull that child out of the pond because they have a different coloured skin from me? Or there must be an Arab person around who can pull them out."
Nadel fumed: "I mean, it's the most terrible logic. This is our duty.
"We are not talking about giving refuge to anyone who's dangerous. We're not talking about not having screening procedures. We are talking about children who at the moment are trapped in a shooting gallery."
