Legal briefing on the rights of stateless Palestinians in the UK September 2025 are ineligible to access nationality in accordance with the 1965 Casablanca Protocol and are not considered nationals of those States (with some exceptions for certain persons of Palestinian origin in Jordan and Egypt).37 (a) Lack of Palestinian sovereignty Palestine declared its independence in 1988 and is recognised as a State by 151 countries (as of 21 September 2025) and as a non-member observer at the UN.38 However, it continues to be a State under military occupation by Israel. Issuance of Palestinian identity and travel documents requires permission from Israel, and Palestine ‘is far from being independent or sovereign’. 39 The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed in 1964 and was recognised over subsequent years as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, including by Israel in 1993, through the Oslo Peace Accords. The Palestinian Authority was created in 1994 to govern Palestine, to a limited extent. Pursuant to the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority can grant permanent resident status to existing residents and certain persons of Palestinian origin returning from abroad, and it can issue identity cards and travel documents for residents of the West Bank and Gaza, provided they are included in the Israeli-controlled Palestinian population registry. However, these acts require permission from the Israeli authorities.40 The issuance of documents also often requires presence in the Palestinian territories, which in turn has its borders controlled by Israel. In any case, permanent residence is not the same as nationality. Thus, while Palestinians who have obtained these (residence) documents are generally permitted entry to the oPt by Israel, there are also restrictions on entry to Gaza and on the freedom of movement within the West Bank, and such residence statuses do not constitute nationality. Furthermore, the fact that the issuance of identity documents and re-entry into Palestine are ultimately subject to the discretion of Israeli authorities further demonstrates the lack of Palestinian sovereignty and independence. Thus, the granting of documentation by the Palestinian Authority cannot be considered an action of an independent, sovereign State and Palestine cannot be considered an independent and sovereign State for the purposes of Article 1 of the 1954 Convention. In addition, Israeli policies that permit the revocation of Palestinian residence permits and travel documents in the oPt based on residence abroad put some Palestinians at risk of losing even their ability to enter and reside in the territory. In the case of Palestinians who are not eligible for – or who are not granted – permanent residence or identity documents by the Palestinian Authority, they remain without any legal bond to the State of Palestine and are unable to exercise any rights generally attached to a nationality, including the right to enter, exit, or reside in the territory. 37 League of Arab States, Protocol for the Treatment of Palestinians in Arab States (‘Casablanca Protocol’), 11 September 1965. When determining statelessness, some national authorities will require an applicant to show that the applicant has taken all reasonable steps to acquire a nationality of any relevant countries, which may include countries in which they were born or habitually resided. See Home Office guidance for decision makers, Permission to Stay as a Stateless Person (last updated 22 July 2025) p 23. 38 UNGA, ‘Status of Palestine in the United Nations’, Resolution 67/1, 29 November 2012. 39 Leila H Farsakh, Rethinking Statehood in Palestine: Self Determination and Decolonization Beyond Partition (University of California Press, 2021), p 1. 40 See Wout van Doren et al, ‘The Broadening Protection Gap for Stateless Palestinian Refugees in Belgium‘ in The Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2(2) (2020), 307-08. 11