Palestine

Demographics

Estimated Total Population:

4.7 million

World Bank, 2019

Estimated SGM Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated Total SGM Adult Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated % of SGM Adults (18+):

N/A

N/A

SGM rights are both a social and political issue in Palestine. As Palestine is overall more conservative than Israel, Palestine is seen as the more homophobic of the two. This has given rise to homonationalism—the public movement of homonormativity and acceptance as a cause for nationalism—in Israel. However, many SGM people living in Palestine believe Israel is “pinkwashing” (using their supposed acceptance of SGM’s as propaganda) to further the disputes between Israel and Palestine and conceal abuses against Palestinians. Being openly queer in Palestine is often seen as a form of rebellion against the state, and promotion of western views. Conflicting colonial laws bring into question whether or not consensual same-sex acts are actually legal in Palestine, as the Palestinian Authority has not spoken either for either side. There is no recognition of marriage or civil unions, and no protections for SGM people. In 2019, LGBTQ+ groups were banned from the West Bank. 

Palestine's Laws and Policies from ILGA World Report (2019)

RECOGNITION
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
No
Civil Unions
No
Joint Adoption
No
Second Parent Adoption
No
PROTECTION
Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
No
Broad Protections
No
Criminalization of Violence
No
Ban of Conversion Therapy
No
CRIMINALIZATION
Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?
Yes
Gender
N/A
Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)
N/A

Selected Published Studies, Reports, and Other Documents

Goodman, D. (2016). Queer Nation-Building: LGBT and Queer Discourses in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society. https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/sewsa/2016/fullschedule/3 

 

Gross, A. (2014). The Politics of LGBT Rights in Israel and beyond: Nationality, Normativity, and Queer Politics. Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 46(2), 81–152. 

 

Palestinian Authority bans LGBTQ groups from the West Bank. (n.d.). The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved October 5, 2020, from https://www.thejc.com/news/israel/palestinian-authority-pa-bans-lgbt-lgbtq-activity-in-west-bank-al-qaws-1.487605 

 

Ritchie, J. (2015). Pinkwashing, Homonationalism, and Israel–Palestine: The Conceits of Queer Theory and the Politics of the Ordinary. Antipode, 47(3), 616–634. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12100 

 

Schulman, S. (2012). Israel/Palestine and the Queer International. Duke University Press. 

 

Sharoni, S. (1999). Gender in Conflict: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict through Feminist Lenses. Signs, 24(2), 487–499. JSTOR. 

 

Local Resources for SGM’s 

 

Aswat 

Palestinian Lesbian Women 

https://www.aswatgroup.org/ 

 

al-Qaws for Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society 

http://www.alqaws.org/siteEn/index/language/en