Palestinian Authority passport
Encyclopedia
Palestinian Authority Passport/Travel Document (Jawaz Safar) is a passport
/travel document
issued since April 1995 by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinian
residents of the Palestinian territories
for the purpose of international travel.
The Palestinian Authority passport is available to anyone on production of a birth certificate showing that they were born in Palestine. What constitutes "Palestine" for this purpose is not clear. In practice only residents of areas under the Palestinian Authority jurisdiction can apply. Whether Palestinians born outside Palestine could apply for the passport is also not clear.
However, the passport holder is subject to additional restrictions imposed by the Israeli government. For example, Palestinians with passports from other countries are required by Israel to exit and enter the Palestinian territories through either Ben Gurion International Airport
or an approved land crossing, with a Palestinian passport. Israel asserts that the requirement is permitted under the Interim Agreement. The United States regards the Palestinian Authority as not controlling its borders, with all persons entering Palestinian Authority controlled areas being required to obtain permission from Israel.
. A significant number of Palestinian Arabs, especially in the Gaza Strip and those who found refuge in Syria and Lebanon, remained stateless.
The Egypt
ian-controlled All-Palestine Government
issued All-Palestine passports between 1949 and 1959 to Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip and Egypt. However, passport holders were not permitted to move freely into Egypt. In the meantime, Transjordan
annexed the West Bank and Palestinian residents of the West Bank became citizens of Jordan, and were entitled to a Jordanian passport.
After the 1967 Six-Day War
, during which Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan, Palestinian Arabs living there continued to have the right to apply for Jordanian passports and live in Jordan. Palestinian refugees actually living in Jordan were also considered full Jordanian citizens. In July 1988, Jordan severed all legal and administrative ties with the West Bank. Any Palestinian living in Jordan would remain a Jordanian citizen; but residents of the West Bank would not.
Jordan continued to issue passports to Palestinians in the West Bank, but they were for travel purposes only and not as indication of citizenship. Palestinians in the West Bank who had regular Jordanian passports were issued with temporary ones upon expiration of the old ones, and entry into Jordan by Palestinians became time-limited and considered for tourism purposes only. Any Jordanian citizen found carrying a Palestinian or Israeli passport had his/her Jordanian citizenship revoked.
On 2 April 1995, two years after the Oslo Accords
of 1993, the Palestinian Authority started issuing Palestinian Authority passports to the public in the self-ruling areas of Gaza and Jericho. These passports retained the personal ID number of the Israeli Civil Administration
.
Since Hamas
took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, it has been responsible for the issue of Palestinian Authority passports there.
and/or Palestinian nationality and citizenship. As of 1997, Palestinian authorities had not issued a passport in the name of the State of Palestine. While the United States
Government recognizes Palestinian Authority passports as travel documents, it does not view them as conferring citizenship, since they are not issued by a government which US recognizes. Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have indicated only (in May 2002) that the passports, along with valid visas or other necessary papers, would allow their holders to travel to their countries.
In October 2007, a Japan
ese Justice Ministry official said, "Given that the Palestinian Authority has improved itself to almost a full-fledged state and issues its own passports, we have decided to accept the Palestinian nationality". The decision followed a recommendation by a ruling party panel on nationality that Palestinians should no longer be treated as stateless.
English
The word PURSUANT is printed with a mistake: PERSUANT.
does not accept passports issued by the All Palestine Government. Lebanon
and Syria
, unless approved by Syrian Immigration Headquarters, do not accept Palestinian passports.
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
/travel document
Travel document
A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international treaty organization to facilitate the movement of individuals or small groups of persons across international boundaries...
issued since April 1995 by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
residents of the Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
for the purpose of international travel.
The Palestinian Authority passport is available to anyone on production of a birth certificate showing that they were born in Palestine. What constitutes "Palestine" for this purpose is not clear. In practice only residents of areas under the Palestinian Authority jurisdiction can apply. Whether Palestinians born outside Palestine could apply for the passport is also not clear.
However, the passport holder is subject to additional restrictions imposed by the Israeli government. For example, Palestinians with passports from other countries are required by Israel to exit and enter the Palestinian territories through either Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport , also referred to by its Hebrew acronym Natbag , is the largest and busiest international airport in Israel, handling 12,160,339 passengers in 2010...
or an approved land crossing, with a Palestinian passport. Israel asserts that the requirement is permitted under the Interim Agreement. The United States regards the Palestinian Authority as not controlling its borders, with all persons entering Palestinian Authority controlled areas being required to obtain permission from Israel.
History
Between 1924 and 1948, the term "Palestinian passport" referred to the travel documents that were available to residents of British Mandate Palestine. Issued by the High Commissioner for Palestine, they were officially titled, "British passport, Palestine". These passports became invalid with the termination of the British mandate on 15 May 1948. Israeli and Jordanian passports were offered to former British Mandate subjects according to the citizenship they acquired in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. A significant number of Palestinian Arabs, especially in the Gaza Strip and those who found refuge in Syria and Lebanon, remained stateless.
The Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian-controlled All-Palestine Government
All-Palestine Government
The All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Shortly thereafter, an Arab-Palestinian Congress named King Abdullah I of Transjordan, "King of Arab Palestine"...
issued All-Palestine passports between 1949 and 1959 to Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip and Egypt. However, passport holders were not permitted to move freely into Egypt. In the meantime, Transjordan
Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...
annexed the West Bank and Palestinian residents of the West Bank became citizens of Jordan, and were entitled to a Jordanian passport.
After the 1967 Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
, during which Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan, Palestinian Arabs living there continued to have the right to apply for Jordanian passports and live in Jordan. Palestinian refugees actually living in Jordan were also considered full Jordanian citizens. In July 1988, Jordan severed all legal and administrative ties with the West Bank. Any Palestinian living in Jordan would remain a Jordanian citizen; but residents of the West Bank would not.
Jordan continued to issue passports to Palestinians in the West Bank, but they were for travel purposes only and not as indication of citizenship. Palestinians in the West Bank who had regular Jordanian passports were issued with temporary ones upon expiration of the old ones, and entry into Jordan by Palestinians became time-limited and considered for tourism purposes only. Any Jordanian citizen found carrying a Palestinian or Israeli passport had his/her Jordanian citizenship revoked.
On 2 April 1995, two years after the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
of 1993, the Palestinian Authority started issuing Palestinian Authority passports to the public in the self-ruling areas of Gaza and Jericho. These passports retained the personal ID number of the Israeli Civil Administration
Israeli Civil Administration
The Civil Administration , is the Israeli governing body that operates in Judea and Samaria. It was established by the government of Israel in 1981, in order to carry out practical bureaucratic functions within the territories conquered in 1967...
.
Since Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, it has been responsible for the issue of Palestinian Authority passports there.
Implications of the passport
Palestinians regard the passport as a 'crucial symbol of nationhood.' The recognition of the passports by other countries has been cited as evidence of recognition by them of the State of PalestineState of Palestine
Palestine , officially declared as the State of Palestine , is a state that was proclaimed in exile in Algiers on 15 November 1988, when the Palestine Liberation Organization's National Council adopted the unilateral Palestinian Declaration of Independence...
and/or Palestinian nationality and citizenship. As of 1997, Palestinian authorities had not issued a passport in the name of the State of Palestine. While the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Government recognizes Palestinian Authority passports as travel documents, it does not view them as conferring citizenship, since they are not issued by a government which US recognizes. Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have indicated only (in May 2002) that the passports, along with valid visas or other necessary papers, would allow their holders to travel to their countries.
In October 2007, a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Justice Ministry official said, "Given that the Palestinian Authority has improved itself to almost a full-fledged state and issues its own passports, we have decided to accept the Palestinian nationality". The decision followed a recommendation by a ruling party panel on nationality that Palestinians should no longer be treated as stateless.
Passport note
The document contains a note on the second page (inside of the cover) stating:English
-
- 'THIS PASSPORT/TRAVEL DOCUMENT IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO THE PALESTINIAN SELF GOVERNMENT AGREEMENT ACCORDING TO OSLO AGREEMENT SIGNED IN WASHINGTON IN 13/9/1993.
- IT IS REQUESTED FROM THOSE WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN TO ALLOW THE BEARER OF THIS PASSPORT/TRAVEL DOCUMENT TO PASS FREELY WITHOUT LET AND HINDRANCE AND TO AFFORD HIM(HER)SUCH ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION AS MAY BE NECESSARY.
The word PURSUANT is printed with a mistake: PERSUANT.
Countries that do not accept Palestinian Authority passports
CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
does not accept passports issued by the All Palestine Government. Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, unless approved by Syrian Immigration Headquarters, do not accept Palestinian passports.