After legal twists, Arab Israeli reportedly granted asylum by UK over fear of persecution in Israel

The UK has reportedly granted asylum to an Arab Israeli national who claimed a “well-founded fear of persecution” if he were to return to Israel because of his pro-Palestinian activism.

The decision, which comes after an initial rejection and several legal twists and turns, would apparently be the first time that the UK has granted asylum to an Arab Israeli.

The 26-year-old, whose real name is barred from publication but who is referred to by his lawyers as “Hasan,” has lived almost entirely in the UK.

The Guardian reports that Hasan was granted asylum status just before Christmas, and received a letter from the UK Home Office asserting, “We accept you have a well-founded fear of persecution and therefore cannot return to your country, Israel.”

Hasan first applied for asylum in 2019, based on fear that he would face persecution in Israel for his involvement in pro-Palestinian activism in the UK, in addition to his identities as a Palestinian and a Muslim in Israel.

That request was denied in 2022, on the basis that there was no real risk of persecution.

Shortly before a tribunal was set to take up Hasan’s appeal, however, a representative of the UK Home Office communicated to his lawyers that it expected he would be granted relief — an expectation the lawyers shared with the press. After that story made headlines, the Home Office revisited the deliberations, and ultimately decided against Hasan.

In a decision last year, a judge determined that the Home Office had created a “substantive legitimate expectation,” on which Hasan acted, that relief would be granted; the subsequent disagreement within the agency did not suffice as justification for making an about-face, the court said, citing a Home Office communiqué that described granting relief as “within the range of reasonable decisions.”