lasted approximately five years. During this time, he threw stones at
Israeli soldiers and was arrested four times, shot twice, and imprisoned for sixteen months. He
joined the Palestinian Youth Movement (“PYM”) during the Second Intifada in 2000, where he
trained and recruited local youths to throw stones at Israeli soldiers. He later left the PYM (without
incident) when his supervisor asked him to train members to use weapons. Israeli intelligence
approached Ayyad in 2003 for information about the PYM. He refused to cooperate. After this
encounter, border agents blocked Ayyad from passing certain security check-points. In March 2004,
Ayyad’s friend delivered a letter from the PYM ordering Ayyad to return to the organization. After
he refused to re-join, Ayyad was present in a barbershop when gunfire shattered the shop’s glass
door, and a bomb exploded nearAyyad also asserts that the BIA erred in concluding that he failed to establish a well-founded

fear of future persecution from Palestinian authorities because of his political opinion. On appeal,

Ayyad asserts that he is fearful of Palestinian intelligence because it is operating under the mistaken

belief that he is cooperating with Israeli intelligence. However, during cross-examination, Ayyad

admitted that Palestinian intelligence was not looking for him. He testified further that, even if they

were trying to locate him, their motivation likely stemmed from his rude behavior toward a

Palestinian official in early April 2004. It is well-established that Ayyad’s fear of future persecution

must be based on a statutorily protected ground, either his “race, religion, nationality, membership



alone is to be reserved for “the case of the German Jews, the victims of the Chinese ‘Cultural
Revolution,’