The Palestinian Authority Passport/Travel Document Arabic: جواز
سفر‎ 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 issuance is subject to additional restrictions
imposed by the Israeli government. Israel asserts that the requirement is
permitted for security needs 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 War.
A significant number of Palestinian Arabs, especially in the Gaza Strip and
those who found refuge in Syria and Lebanon, remained stateless, as Egypt,
Syria and Lebanon did not allow them to integrate as citizens.
The Egyptian-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. 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 Palestine 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 the U.S. recognizes. Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab
Emirates have indicated only that the passports, along with valid visas or
other necessary papers, would allow their holders to travel to their
countries. In October 2007, the Japanese Ministry
of Justice announced that Japan would recognize Palestinian nationality with
one official saying: "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 stating:
English THIS PASSPORT/TRAVEL DOCUMENT IS ISSUED
PERSUANT [sic] TO THE PALESTINIAN SELF GOVERNMENT AGREEMENT ACCORDING TO OSLO
AGREEMENT SIGNED IN WASHINGTON IN 131993.
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.
See also Palestinian Declaration of Independence
Visa requirements for Palestinian citizens
References