Palestinian citizen of Israel wins UK asylum over ‘well-founded fear of persecution’

A Palestinian citizen of Israel has been granted asylum in the UK on the basis of a “well-founded fear of persecution” despite a former home secretary’s attempt to block the claim.Hasan (not his real name) is believed to be the first Palestinian with an Israeli passport to be given refugee status in the UK. But the decision came only after two about-turns by the Home Office and a protracted legal battle.The 26-year-old was born in Israel but despite spending almost his entire life in the UK with his mother and siblings was denied leave to remain or citizenship. He claimed asylum on the basis that he would face persecution in Israel because he had been involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations in person and online while in the UK and would also face discrimination as a Palestinian and a Muslim.His initial application was refused but on 11 March 2024, the day before his first tier tribunal hearing, Hasan was told he would be granted refugee status subject to passing security checks. However, after media reporting, the Home Office withdrew that decision after an intervention by James Cleverly, who was home secretary at the time.With the support of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), Hasan successfully brought a judicial review last year over the reversal of the asylum decision and – after the Home Office was refused permission to appeal – he was granted asylum status just before Christmas.He said: “I was a baby when I came to the UK and I’ve lived here all my life – but the Home Office’s cruel actions have kept me in precarity for decades, while friends and family build their careers, relationships and lives.“I claimed asylum nearly seven years ago, and all that time I’ve been denied the right to work, study or rent. I’ve also been living under the threat of removal from my community and home to Israel, a genocidal, apartheid regime that persecutes Palestinians. The British government can no longer deny this.”Documents released during the judicial review showed that the decision on 11 March 2024 to grant refugee status referred to “substantial evidence of systematic discriminatory practices against Palestinians in Israel: apartheid, forced removal, restrictions of rights and exclusion from society”.Nevertheless, on 13 March 2024, Cleverly’s deputy private secretary wrote to Home Office officials asking: “Please can you share urgent advice for the home secretary on options of what next. This should include a full range option, including … to withdraw and revoke the asylum claim.”A response to Cleverly and others from an official dated 14 March 2024 acknowledged “recent media and political interest” but said: “It is not possible to offer ministers ‘options’ as to how to proceed and then to invite them to make a decision. If any applicant is assessed to meet the criteria for recognition as a refugee, or for a grant of leave on human rights grounds, that is a matter of law – there is nothing on which it would be proper for ministers to decide.”The Home Office letter to Hasan, who cannot be named because of a court order, said: “We accept you have a well-founded fear of persecution and therefore cannot return to your country, Israel.”Hasan, who is seeking damages, has also been frustrated by delays with his eVisa, which is required for housing and to get a job.Taher Gulamhussein, Hasan’s solicitor at JCWI, said: “On 11 March 2024 three Home Office decision-makers decided that there was only ‘one conclusion’ – that Hasan was a refugee and reasonably likely to face persecution by Israel.“Despite several senior officials agreeing that Hasan should be given paperwork confirming the same, three home secretaries, both Tory and Labour, and their Home Office, have wasted public money in trying to deny they accepted he is a refugee, and absurdly arguing that these officials were unauthorised, irrational and clearly wrong. We are pleased that Hasan can finally get on with his life in safety.”Seema Syeda, JCWI spokesperson, said: “The wider public may have questions as to whether Israel also applied diplomatic pressure on the home secretary.”The Home Office and Cleverly have been approached for comment.