Shafiq* is a Palestinian man who ended up in limbo after he managed to get out of Gaza and make his way via Egypt and Turkey to Germany, where he applied for asylum.

The right to asylum is enshrined in Germany's constitution and is granted to individuals who face persecution in their home country due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

But 65-year-old Shafiq arrived a few months after Germany's Federal Office of Migration and Refugees (BAMF) halted the processing of asylum applications in January 2024.

"I didn't know. I wasn't sure why they weren't giving me papers. I sent a letter. Maybe six months ago, they answered that they had to wait to know what the situation was in Gaza," he said.

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Human rights groups, lawyers and some opposition politicians have rejected BAMF's reasons for freezing applications for people like Shafiq.

BAMF cited Article 24 of the Asylum Law, which allows decisions to be postponed in "a temporary uncertain situation." At the time of the suspension, at least 24,000 Palestinians had already been killed in the military incursion launched by Israel, according to Gaza health officials.

In a statement issued to DW in conjunction with the German Interior Ministry, BAMF said decisions about applicants from the Gaza Strip had been "deprioritized" within the administration. The reasons cited by the spokesperson are: "the conflict triggered by the October 7, 2023, attack........

© Deutsche Welle