Following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in October, the CGRS decided to temporarily suspend decisions to grant or refuse subsidiary protection status in Palestinian cases. This suspension only concerned cases of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, in which the CGRS would have concluded to refuse refugee status on the basis of the Geneva Convention according to its policy as determined before 7 October.
It is customary for the CGRS to put a temporary and partial freeze on case processing when a conflict breaks out or a situation changes. In such situations, it is necessary to gather sufficient current and objective information before making a correct assessment. This is also common practice in other EU member states.
Meanwhile, the assessment has been completed and the CGRS can unblock the suspended cases. The CGRS is resuming the processing of all Palestinian cases.
The situation in Gaza clearly indicates a need for international protection. However, the CGRS will thoroughly assess the individual need for protection in each case.