LGBT asylum seekers caught between Palestinian violence and Israeli bureaucracy

Yamen, a young gay Palestinian, was abducted and beaten by a group of men before fleeing the West Bank for his life. He is now living in Israel, but his future is far from certain: he is one of an estimated 300 Palestinian LGBT asylum seekers indefinitely stuck on temporary permits.

Yamen – a pseudonym for his safety – was among those interviewed for a recent report on the experience of LGBT Palestinians seeking protection in Israel. 

If I Had Wings, I Would Fly was published by HIAS Israel, the Israeli arm of the Jewish refugee aid organisation. It draws on interviews with eight Palestinian LGBT asylum seekers aged 20 to 30 and four activists and professionals, and a review of legal cases, policy documents and other research.

The report found LGBT Palestinians from the West Bank are caught in a double bind between violence and abuse under the Palestinian Authority and an unwillingness to grant them asylum if they flee to Israel. Interviewees described family violence, death threats, confinement and abuse from families, communities and the Palestinian Authority.

Same-sex relations are not prohibited by law in the West Bank, but HIAS says that LGBT people have been investigated or detained using other allegations, including indecency and collaboration with Israel.

Israel has resisted acknowledging the problem for LGBT Palestinians, which could create an obligation towards Palestinian asylum seekers under international law. Palestinians seeking protection have generally not been able to access Israel’s asylum process and instead rely on temporary welfare permits issued through the Civil Administration.