France’s top asylum court ruled that all Palestinian nationals from the Gaza Strip not granted protection by the United Nations can receive refugee status.

The country’s National Court of Asylum (CNDA) cited “the risk of persecution by the Israeli armed forces,” according to The Jerusalem Post.

The court said that Israeli military actions in Gaza met the 1951 Geneva Convention persecution threshold.

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This follows a previous ruling in September 13, 2024, that Palestinian nationals from the Strip protected by the UN could apply for refugee status in France given the fact that their protection on the spot could no longer be ensured.

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Friday’s decision was made under the 1951 Geneva Convention “because of the methods of warfare used by Israeli forces since the end of the ceasefire concluded on 19 January 2025 in March 2025.”

It was sparked by a Gazan woman’s application to CNDA for international protection alongside her son due to the fact she was not legally protected by the UNRWA the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). Their case marks the first time in France that a resident of Gaza has been granted the status of refugee by CNDA.

According to JFEED, the court’s decision could have a monumental impact because it “effectively extends eligibility for asylum to all residents of Gaza.”

The outlet noted the ruling defines Palestinians as a persecuted group by “nationality.”

JFEED noted:

This, despite France not formally recognizing Palestine as a state. According to the CNDA, Gazans meet the Convention’s criteria for group-based persecution, due to their cultural, linguistic, and geographic identity. The court emphasized their connection to a people “in conflict with another state” as a factor legitimizing their refugee claims.

While many on the left, celebrated the ruling, critics warned that it could lead to negative consequences. Among them was Henda Ayari, a prominent secular activist and former Muslim, who voiced concern over France’s decision to accept refugees from a region where anti-Western and anti-Semitic ideologies are deeply embedded.

“France is already grappling with internal instability, with growing tensions in many immigrant-heavy suburbs,” Ayari wrote on social media. “Now it opens its doors unconditionally to people from a region where terrorist groups operate openly, and where some welcomed the massacres of October 7.”

Her remarks echoed broader unease about the potential national security risks posed by accepting individuals from territories governed by extremist groups like Hamas – especially when even neighboring Muslim countries have refused to accept them.

 

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