Dana Abuqamar, a Palestinian law student studying at the University of Manchester, had her student visa revoked by the UK’s Home Office, according to multiple media reports from the last week.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Abuqamar claimed that the Home Office revoked her visa as she was a “national threat” after she stated she was “full of joy” over Hamas’s October 7 attacks against Israel.
Hamas, which is a registered terrorist organization, killed over 1200 people on October 7 and kidnapped over 250 more - including a number of British citizens.
“This is the first time that something like this happened in modern-day history – for 16 years Gaza has been under blockade and for the first time they’re actively resisting, they’re not on the defense, and that is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Abuqamar had said during a speech, which reportedly led to the UK’s decision. "We are both in fear of how Israel will retaliate, but also we are full of pride, and full of joy at what has happened.”
Palestinian Manchester Law student Dana Abuqamar, 19, has her student visa revoked, this is a reminder what she said on 7 Oct.Hamas were "actively resisting.. we are full of pride, we are full of joy." These are the types allowed to protest on UK streets. pic.twitter.com/FqN1wO7UzO
— HJB News (@HJB_News__) May 17, 2024
The comments were recorded during an October 8 demonstration to a Sky News reporter, according to the Telegraph.
The former law student leads the Friends of Palestine group at the University of Manchester, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
“Essentially the Home Office claims that my presence in the UK threatens national security; they have said that the statements that I've made support some sort of extremist views,” she told Al Jazeera, which is now banned in Israel for its affiliation with terrorist groups. “Keep in mind, I am a 19-year-old law student – all I have done in life is go to school and receive an education and advocate for social justice.”
The British Government has revoked the student visa for law student Dana Abuqamar.After 07/10 she said: “We are full of pride. We are really, really full of joy at what has happened. We are proud that the resistance has come to this point.”Karma.pic.twitter.com/r5dfIsTD10
— Nioh Berg ♛ ✡︎ אסתר (@NiohBerg) May 16, 2024
She added that her legal team has “launched a human rights appeal against the Home Office’s egregious decision” to revoke her student visa and called the decision “completely baseless.”
“Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right here in the UK, but it clearly does not seem to apply to people of colour or ethnic minorities, and especially not to Muslims and Palestinians like myself,” Abuqamar complained.
Abuqamar later told the site Middle East Eye, according to the Telegraph, that “My words were taken out of context and they were framed as me supporting harm to innocent civilians, which is completely false and completely untrue.
“The UK Home Office decided to revoke my student visa following public statements supporting the Palestinian right to exercise under international law to resist oppression and break through the siege that was illegally placed on Gaza for over 16 years.”
She reasserted that It’s an outrageous claim that the Home Office is making by deeming me a national security threat.
“I am a 19-year-old who has done nothing but go to school and advocate for social justice and try to be an asset to my community," Abuqamar said.
“So saying I pose a threat to national security is a completely baseless claim.”
Condemnations of the comments
Gary Mond Chairman of the National Jewish Assembly, affirmed to the Jerusalem Post that "Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organization which threatens Jews all over the world. Anyone who supports Hamas is a threat to the public in this country, and if from overseas, should be deported as soon as possible. Furthermore, if Hamas and its Gazan supporters had not been threatening Israel in the past, there would be no restriction on any products entering Gaza. The solution has to be for Hamas to be wiped out and the population to be re-educated to live in peace with its Jewish neighbors."
A spokesperson for the Home Office told the JC that while they do not comment on individual cases, “under the Immigration Rules, entry clearance and permission to enter or stay must be cancelled if the person’s presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good.”
“Behavior deemed non-conducive to the public good includes instances where people have engaged in unacceptable or extremist behavior, such as activity which fosters hatred which may lead to inter-community violence, or where the person is associated or has been associated with people involved in terrorism.”