LONDON: A Palestinian family is taking legal action against the British government over a decision to bar them from settling in the UK.

The six family members, ranging in age from 14 to 23 years old, are seeking to leave Gaza and reunite with their father, but have been denied entry for security reasons.

UK government lawyers said it is official policy not to allow access to the country without biometric data, which is currently impossible to obtain or submit in Gaza.

In order to gather the relevant data, the family would need to exit Gaza via Jordan, which would require the provision of onward travel assurances by the UK government, which have not been granted.

At a court hearing on Monday, government lawyer Rory Dunlop said via written submission that giving the OTAs would be a “step too far” from current policy.

“An OTA is an exception to that policy because it requires the Secretary of State for the Home Department to guarantee entry before biometrics have been checked,” he said.

“Every exception to Her (His) Majesty’s Government biometric policy carries risks to national and border security because the individual may pose a risk that can only be identified by their biometrics.

“That is particularly so in a case, as here, where some of the claimants seeking an OTA are adults living in an area where there has been significant terrorist activity.”

The family say the decision to reject their applications is a breach of their human rights. Lawyer Charlotte Kilroy, acting on behalf of the family, said each member could prove their identity via their passports, and Israeli authorities had already approved their application to transit through the country to Jordan.

“Israel uses tools of mass-surveillance in Gaza, meaning any risks they posed related to terrorism activity in the region would have been identified,” Kilroy said.

“The claimants have never left Gaza, meaning there is no real prospect of their data being held or showing risk to the public interest in UK biometric checks.”

At an earlier hearing in December, when the decision was taken to reject the applications, Kilroy noted that the family’s father was taking medication to improve his mental health as the situation had left him worried over the safety of his relatives.

Earlier, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood won the right to restrict migrants using the European Convention on Human Rights to settle in the UK, after the Court of Appeal agreed with her that a scheme opened for Ukrainian refugees could not be used by others, following a Palestinian family’s attempts to use it to justify coming to Britain.