A Palestinian militant convicted of illegally entering the UK and accused of calling for Jews to be killed is now asking to be deported.
However, Abu Wadee—whose full name is Mosab Abdulkarim Al-Gassas—cannot currently be returned to Gaza because the Home Office has no safe route for sending him there.
Wadee arrived in Britain by small boat in March 2025, posing for a selfie and making a V sign as a Border Force vessel approached. Two months later, The Mail on Sunday reported that he had previously belonged to a militant group and had called on Allah to “kill (Jews) one by one… don’t leave a single one”.
He was sentenced to prison for illegal entry and released in December, after which he was placed in asylum accommodation.
Wadee was located at a property in Corby this week. He now says he no longer supports Hamas, claiming he only backed the group while under pressure in Gaza, and rejects allegations that he is antisemitic.
The 34-year-old, who is fitted with an electronic tag, was subsequently removed from the property and transferred to another location. From there, he has released videos calling for his immediate departure from Britain, saying he has come under intense media scrutiny.
In one video, translated from Arabic for the Mail, Wadee said: “I am calling upon the Red Cross and human rights organisations all over the world to organise my removal from Britain. I wish to be relocated right now, before tomorrow.”
Our News Outlet understands that the Home Office is unable to deport him because Gaza remains an active war zone, despite a ceasefire reportedly having been in place for the past year.
Mosab Abdulkarim Al-Gassas, better known as Abu Wadee, is seeking deportation from the UK after the press highlighted his alleged history as a Palestinian militant
Wadee, 34, was linked to the “Tyre-Burning Unit”, a Hamas-affiliated faction accused of throwing rocks and firebombs at Israeli troops during border clashes in 2018
The Palestinian reached the UK by small boat in March, making a peace sign as a Border Force vessel intercepted the dinghy
Despite his request to leave, Wadee continues to face demands for immediate deportation because of his criminal conviction and alleged militant background.
While living in Gaza, he was identified as a member of the “Tyre-Burning Unit”, a Hamas-linked group active during the Great March of Return protests along the Israel-Gaza border in 2018. Members were reported to have thrown rocks and firebombs at Israeli forces.
The demonstrations began as a civilian movement but were later strongly supported by Hamas. A 2019 UN report said the group had “encouraged or defended demonstrators’ use of incendiary kites and balloons”.
Contemporary images published by the press appeared to show Wadee throwing stones and posing with a tear-gas grenade in his mouth. Videos shared on social media also purportedly showed him throwing pipe bombs towards Israeli troops.
In an interview with Felesteen, a Hamas-affiliated Gaza newspaper, he reportedly boasted about launching burning kites into Israel. “The kite only costs us three shekels (75p), but in return it costs the occupation much more because of the fires it causes,” he said.
Other social media posts showed him posing with assault rifles, including in front of a poster featuring Rouzan al-Najjar, a volunteer medic killed by Israeli troops in June 2018. The accompanying caption read: “Be a leader, for history does not remember the soldiers”.
Wadee now disputes that account, saying he worked in construction in Gaza and was never part of a faction. He has also claimed that photographs showing him with weapons were taken at weddings, where such displays are customary.
“They publish reports about me and bring old photos of me carrying a weapon while I was in Gaza… those photos were at weddings,” he said in one video.
“We all know our customs and traditions at weddings in Gaza. I do not belong to any faction.”
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Wadee is seen leaving his asylum HMO in Corby earlier this week – an ankle tag visible beneath his trousers
Wadee posing with a pair of assault rifles in front of a photo of Rouzan al-Najjar, a volunteer medic killed by Israeli troops in June 2018. He claimed such photos were from celebratory occasions such as weddings
The Palestinian pictured amidst clashes with Israeli troops during the Great March of Return protests in 2018
In another clip, posted on Friday afternoon, Wadee alluded to his time in the Tyre-Burning Unit, but said this did not mark him out from other Palestinians.
‘All the people in Gaza participated in the Marches of Return; it does not mean that if you went to the Marches of Return, burned tires, or threw stones that you belonged to an organization or were affiliated with a faction,’ he said.
Wadee – who is thought to have taken 18 months to reach Britain – was traced by the Northamptonshire Telegraph to a housing estate in Corby after sharing videos of himself in the town on TikTok, often filmed on his own street.
He told the newspaper that he no longer supported Hamas, having done so under duress, and had Jewish friends.
‘No, no, no. I love England, I love Corby,’ he said, adding: ‘Everyone knows that Hamas is a terrorist organisation that would kill us if we didn’t speak against the Jews while living there.’
But the convicted criminal’s continued presence in Britain is putting pressure on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who just this week gave Palestinians a new legal route into Britain by re-opening the UK Resettlement Scheme.
Home Office staff have been ordered to flag Palestinian asylum claims for ‘reputational risk’, as revealed by the Mail this week.
It is thought the order came from mandarins after a former bodyguard to the leader of Hamas was allowed to remain in the UK following an immigration appeal.
Corby MP Lee Barron has written to Ms Mahmood demanding Wadee’s deportation, saying he had put ‘a target on the back’ of the town’s other asylum seekers.
How The Mail on Sunday first revealed Abu Wadee’s identity to the world in March 2025 – before he was arrested days later
Wadee posing with an AR-15-style assault rifle in a photo he shared on social media in 2021
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: ‘It’s remarkable that we’ve got to a point where even Abu Wadee is asking to be deported, but the Government can’t even manage that.
‘This has been a complete farce from start to finish. In May 2025, Mr Wadee pleaded guilty to illegally entering the UK on a small boat after we identified him, but it’s October and he is still in our country.
‘It’s no wonder that British Jews have little faith in the authorities to protect our community when they can’t even get this right.’
The Home Office declined to comment on specifics concerning Abu Wadee, citing a longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.
A government spokesman said: ‘Any foreign national who receives a prison sentence in the UK is referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity and will be barred from ever returning.
‘Over 11,000 foreign criminals including murderers and rapists have been returned or deported in the two years since the last election – a 41 per cent increase on the two years prior.’
