UK Home Office grants asylum to Palestinian citizen of Israel

Britain's Home Office has agreed to grant asylum to a 24-year old Palestinian citizen of Israel "on the basis that he has a well-founded fear of persecution if returned to Israel," a London-based law firm said on Monday.

"The decision came less than 24 hours before a tribunal hearing at which the Home Office was to defend its original decision to refuse the claim," according to a statement from Riverway Law.

The documents filed with the tribunal suggested that the young man "claimed that Israel maintains an 'apartheid' system of racial domination of its Jewish citizens over its Palestinian citizens, whom it systematically oppresses."

"He had also provided evidence to the tribunal that he is at enhanced risk of persecution because of his Palestinian solidarity activism in the UK and his anti-Zionist political opinions."

The law firm said that the man "whose real identity cannot be disclosed for his own protection" is named Hasan and that his case is "based in part on multiple reports by experts and NGOs published in recent years, all of which conclude that Israel imposes a system of oppression and domination against Palestinians across all areas under its control which amounts to the international crime of Apartheid."

The case is also based on a recent interim judgment by the International Court of Justice in a case submitted by South Africa against Israel, "in which the Court referred to the openly genocidal rhetoric of Israel's most senior states people, including its President Isaac Herzog."

The Home Office decision can have "widespread ramifications" for other Palestinians who claim asylum in the UK and other countries, the law firm added.

It said: "The case is based on the 1951 Refugee Convention, which is binding on all states, and the European Convention on Human Rights ('ECHR'), which binds 46 members states. In principle, Palestinians who claim asylum in other jurisdictions around the world can point to this concession by the UK Home Office in support of their own claims for protection from Israeli apartheid."

Taher Gulamhussein, Hasan's solicitor, said: "While the world is rightfully focussed on the Israeli genocide in Gaza, it is critical to understand that by virtue of its being an apartheid state, Israel's oppression extends to any Palestinians under its control and authority, whether that be in Gaza, the West Bank or even within what is considered to be Israel's own borders. We therefore welcome the Home Office's decision to grant asylum to our client in recognition of that fundamental fact."

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed.

Nearly 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 72,600 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Victory for all Palestinians under 'apartheid Israeli regime'

Hasan's barrister Franck Magennis said meanwhile that it was "now completely beyond any reasonable doubt that Israel is governed by an apartheid regime, one whose animating ideology is Zionism. That regime views Palestinians as a demographic threat to the racial purity of a so-called 'Jewish state'. We hope that this decision marks a turning point in Home Office thinking, and call on governments and courts worldwide to recognise the violent anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic racism at the heart of the Israeli government."

Describing the decision a "victory" for "all Palestinians living under the apartheid Israeli regime," Hasan said that the UK government "has now accepted that the Palestinian struggle for freedom should not just be limited to Gaza and the West Bank but to all parts of historic Palestine under Israeli rule."

"I wish to extend a huge thank you to all those who have supported my case. Without your help, I could not have reached this point."