Younis

MEMORANDUM ***

Diana Younis and her children Roda and Luana Younis, natives and citizens of Israel, petition for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) summarily affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of their applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (the “Convention”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and we deny the petition for review.

Petitioners contend that the hostile acts perpetrated on them by a Muslim family constitute persecution on account of a protected ground. We disagree. The record indicates that the source of the hostility was a personal dispute that arose due to the premarital romantic relationship between Roda Younis and a young Muslim woman. Because “[pjurely personal retribution is, of course, not persecution ...” Molina-Morales v. INS, 237 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir.2001) (citation omitted), substantial evidence supports the conclusion that petitioners failed to sustain their burden of establishing persecution on account of a statutorily protected ground. See Kozulin v. INS, 218 F.3d 1112, 1117 (9th Cir.2000) (rejecting possibility of “mixed motive”…