One of the most taboo subjects in the majority of Arab and

Muslim countries is that of homosexuality. While Palestine doesnt

criminalize homosexuality, it also doesnt have any human rights
protections to defend homosexuals. LGBT rights in Palestine are a large
problem, but its not one that gets a lot of attention. Even some LGBT
Palestinians themselves would agree that Palestine has larger problems
at the forefront of its peoples minds, most namely the Israeli
occupation. Israel occupation is the main obstacle to get our freedom
as Palestinians. I do think, though, if for Israeli occupation to end,
talking about our rights will be easier as I believe the Palestinian
society is open-minded. said one 28-year-old gay Palestinian names
Yehya.
However, in the meantime, with no end to the occupation in
sight, many LGBT Palestinians are suffering; unable to live openly gay
lives in Palestine due to rife homophobia at a minimum and beatings or
killings by disgraced and dishonored families at the extreme.
Furthermore, those that want to are not able to be granted or even
apply for asylum in Israel proper. Due the large influence of Islam on
Palestinian culture, homophobia is an unaccepted idea among many
Palestinians, so to be discovered as a gay boy in Palestine would lead
to great dishonor upon ones family and a shunning of the boy. In most
Palestinian homes, due to not only cultural but also economic factors,
most boys live at home until they marry causing this to be huge and
obvious logistical problem for gay Palestinians. To add even more,
anyone in Palestinian that is discovered to be gay by Palestinian
authorities is most often accused of being an Israel informant and
given two options: falsely confess and face the consequences or be
out-ed to your family and face the consequences.
When this occurs, the answer that many young, Palestinian
men are forced to come up with is one: run. They escape to Israel
proper, often Tel Aviv and other large cities, where they are forced to
live illegally. Almost all are eventually found out about and picked up
and again given two options: return to Palestine and live in fear of
being found by family or persecuted for being gay or, ironically
enough, become an informant for Israel.
In Israel, a democratic state who itself was founded by refugees
seeking asylum, does not offer asylum or even the option for
Palestinians to apply for asylum in Israel citing them as security risks.
The justification for this comes from a event in 2002 in which a group
of Palestinians living in Israel after being granted asylum were accused
of helping collaborate with suicide bombers, coinciding with a common
theme of Israelis using collective punishment against Palestinians. Now
only Palestinians whose lives are in danger because theyve worked
with the Israel government are eligible to apply for asylum in Israel; no
other Palestinians are allowed as they are all considered to be grave
security threats to the state of Israel despite the own severe dangers

they face everyday in Palestine merely for being gay.

In addition to Israels security stance against granting
Palestinians asylum, another commonly cited reason is that being gay
doesnt count as a reason for granting asylum; the argument saying
that if Israel were to do this, any Palestinian could apply for asylum on
the basis that he or she was gay. What is conveniently ignored here by
Israel is the cultural aspects that surround this topic in Palestine and
the possible implementation of programs that would easily be able to
check and vet asylum seekers to confirm their stories.
While it would be impossible to get even a ball park number of
how many LGBT individuals are living in Palestine or in Israel illegally
today, it can be guessed that the numbers are pretty high, probably
higher than Israel would expect and much higher than the average
Palestinian would expect. Most of the young men who make their way
to Israel to escape violence and homophobia are from the West Bank,
while nearly none are from Gaza both due to the blockade and the
overwhelming strangle hold of Hamass religious influence over the
community.
Because of the overwhelming number of political, economic, and
human rights issues in Palestine today, its easy to see why the case of
Palestinian LGBT individuals get overlooked. And this
misrepresentation is exactly why its an issue that needs to be talked
about. The ending of the Israeli occupation would certainly free up a lot
of room in the mind of Palestinians to work on more cultural and social
rights but an end to the occupation is nowhere in sight and gay
Palestinians are much more than far and few between in the region.
Spreading awareness of this issue is a vital and important way,
especially given the circumstances, to begin laying the framework for
acceptance and understanding. Many activists and groups are doing
just this; LGBTQ activist groups like Queers4Palestine, Palestinian
Queers for BDS (http://www.pqbds.com), and al-Qaws for Sexual and
Gender Diversity in Palestine (http://alqaws.org/about-us) and films like
The Invisible Men (https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-invisiblemen/id785618503).
While the end of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian
territories is the ideal first step in moving forward about acceptance
and gay rights in Palestine, we cant wait that long, first and foremost
because we dont know how long that long is going to be. Its not
anyone or anything or any religions fault that the way things are how
they are now in Palestine, none of that matters. What does it the
imperativeness of starting to move forward now to create a more open
and understanding society in Palestine where all Palestinians can live
freely and openly. As Abdu, a 25-year-old gay Palestinian activist says,
We cant change the way my parents view homosexuality, but I
believe the new generation of Palestinians can make a difference.

Sources:
Ali Abunimah, AP corrects story falsely accusing homosexuality is
illegal for Palestinians, The Electronic Intifada
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/ap-corrects-storyfalsely-claiming-homosexuality-illegal-palestinians (July 7, 2015)
Bader Salam, Homosexuals in Palestinethe invisibles, Your Middle
East, http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/features/homosexuals-inpalestine-the-invisibles_14801 (May, 16, 2013)
Itay Hod, Gay Palestinians in Israel: The Invisible Men, The Daily Beast,
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/13/gay-palestinians-inisrael-the-invisible-men.html (Aug. 13, 2014)
Gay Palestinians flee to Israel, BBC News, October 22, 2003,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3211772.stm