Lawyers: ‘Wide Ramifications’ of UK Asylum for Palestinian Citizen of Israel

Protesters during a pro-Palestine march organised by Stop the War Coalition and Palestine Solidarity Campaign in central London on Oct. 21, 2023. Stefan Rousseau/PA

A Palestinian citizen of Israel is to be granted asylum by the Home Office on the basis that he has a “well-founded fear of persecution if returned to Israel,” could have wide ramifications, according to lawyers.

In a statement this week, Franck Magennis, of the Garden Court Chambers Immigration Team, said that 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.

Mr. Magennis, who represented “Hasan,” believed the Home Office’s decision to grant asylum to a Palestinian from Israel would have “widespread ramifications” in Britain and elsewhere.

Hasan

Conflict between Israel IDF forces and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place in and around Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip.

In documents filed with the immigration tribunal, “Hasan,” whose real identity cannot be disclosed, claimed that the Israeli government maintains an “apartheid system of racial domination over its Palestinian citizens, whom it systematically oppresses.”

He said that 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 UK and Israel disagree with the use of the term “apartheid” with regard to Israel. The UK has a long-standing position that it would only recognise a State of Palestine at the “right time” in the peace process with Israel.

Lawyers said that the Home Office’s decision to grant asylum “could have widespread ramifications for other Palestinians who claim asylum in Britain and elsewhere.”

It said that the case is based on the 1951 Refugee Convention, which is binding in all states, and the European Convention on Human Rights, which binds 46 member states.

‘Can Point to This Concession’

“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 the Israeli government,” it said.

The Home Office did not respond to The Epoch Times request for comment.

A Home Office spokesperson told The Guardian that: “All asylum claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with the immigration rules. Where more information is provided or becomes available, the outcome of a decision can change.”

The Epoch Times contacted Garden Court Chambers Immigration Team for comment.

Anti-Zionist Views

Last month, a court ruled that anti-Zionist views now qualify as a protected belief under the Equality Act, sparking concern from anti-Semitism campaigners.

An employment tribunal ruled that Professor David Miller was “unfairly dismissed” from his post at Bristol University in 2021 following remarks he made about Israel.

At the conclusion of proceedings, Mr. Miller successfully claimed discrimination “based on his philosophical belief that Zionism is inherently racist, imperialist, and colonial, a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010,” his legal representatives, Rahman Lowe, announced on Monday.

This judgment establishes for the first time that anti-Zionist beliefs are protected in the workplace,” the firm said.

According to the Jewish Virtual Library, Zionism’s general definition means “the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.”

Reacting to Mr. Miller’s ruling at the time, the Campaign Against Antisemitism said, “We recognise that these matters have caused deep concern for many, and that members of our community hold very different views from one another.”

According to the Home Office, “beliefs” are recorded as part of the asylum claim registration process.