History of Palestinian nationality
Encyclopedia
Palestinian people
have a history that is often linked to the history of the Arab
Nation, which is linked to the rise of Islam
. When Islam was started by the prophet Muhammad
in Mecca
in 610 CE, Christianity
was the major religion of Palestine
. Soon after the rise of Islam, Palestine was conquered and brought into the rapidly expanding Islamic empire. The Umayyad
empire was the first of three successive dynasties to dominate the Arab-Islamic world and rule Palestine, followed by the Abbasids and the Fatimids. Muslim rule was briefly challenged and interrupted in parts of Palestine during the Crusades
, but was restored under the Mamluks.
After toppling the Mamluk state in 1517, the Ottoman Turks
took control of most of the Arab world
. Palestine existed within the Ottoman Empire
as two districts, also referred to as Sanjaks. The legal origin of citizenship in the Middle East
was born of the Ottoman Citizenship Law of 19 January 1869 and the Treaty of Lausanne
.
citizenship
has developed over the last century starting during the British Mandate era and in different form following the Oslo Peace process. There has never been a sovereign Palestinian authority to explicitly define who is a Palestinian.
came into force on August 6, 1924. It stated that the Ottoman
nationals who were "habitually residents" of what became Palestine "will become ipso facto" nationals of that state. Article 7 of the Mandate for Palestine stipulated that the British mandatory power "shall be responsible for enacting a nationality law". The British authority via the structure of the British Mandate of Palestine was directed to "facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in Palestine." Article 15 stated that "No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the inhabitants of Palestine on the ground of race, religion or language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine on the sole ground of his religious belief."
The first Palestine Citizenship Order was enacted by Britain on 24 July 1925; it was the first official enactment that outlined the legal definition of a Palestinian. Its first article defined a Palestinian as a "Turkish subject habitually resident in the territory of Palestine." It defined the territorial criteria for citizenship, and appeared to be nondiscriminatory legislation, which provided granting of citizenship to an applicant, irrespective of their race, religion or language. This order held until 14 May 1948, when the People's Council, representative of the Yishuv
or Jewish Community, declared the creation of the Jewish State
of Israel
pursuant to the relevant UN resolution............
Palestinian citzenship during the League of Nations Mandate included both Arabs and Jews as well as other ethnic groups that resided in the territory (Druze, Armenians, Circassians, etc). During these decades Jews embraced the term (the Palestine Post, the Palestine Brewery, the Palestine Brigades were all Jewish organizations) while the Arabs generally disdained and distanced themselves from it (arguing that Palestine was a "Zionist Invention").
; and 4. Arabs who remained in or relocated to the Gaza Strip
.
Palestinians then ceased to be only Palestinian, but were either Israeli-Palestinians
; Jordanian Palestinians, United Nations Relief and Works Agency-Palestinians, and Gaza-Palestinians.
The first Israeli Nationality Law
was passed on the 14 July 1952. From the time that Israel was created to July 1952, Palestinians were "stateless
." Israeli courts rendered the former Palestinian citizenship, given by the British administration to Jews, Arabs and other inhabitants of the region, "devoid of substance," "not satisfactory and is inappropriate to the situation following the establishment of Israel". The Israeli Nationality Law effectively denationalized Palestinians. It granted every "Jew" who immigrated to Israel, or, following the 1971 amendment, even expressed the desire to immigrate to Israel, "immediate" Israeli citizenship without taking any formal steps. It retroactively altered the Palestinian Citizenship Orders, stating that they had to be "repealed with effect from the day of the establishment of the State".
In order to obtain Israeli citizenship, Palestinians had to prove that they had a) been registered in the Inhabitants Registration in 1949; had been an inhabitant of Israel on 14 July 1952; had been in Israel or in an area that later came into Israel between the establishment of Israel and July 14, 1952; or had entered legally during that period. These proved difficult for many Palestinians to fulfil because many at the time had no proof of Palestinian citizenship, and those who had identity cards were forced to surrender them to the Israeli army during or soon after the war. Attaining status as a Registered Inhabitant was also difficult because there was a "deliberate attempt [by Israeli Forces] to not register many [Palestinian] villages Those who failed to attain legal status remained in Israel as stateless persons.
An amendment to the Israeli Nationality Law was passed in 1968 This amendment stipulated that a Palestinian must apply within 3 years of turning 18 years of age, and had to prove that they had been a resident of Israel for five consecutive years prior to their application. A further amendment was passed in 1980 which alleviated the article that has previously required the applicant to have been in Israel between May 1948 and July 1952.
Following the 1980 amendment to Israel's Nationality Law, Palestinians were strictly legal citizens of the State of Israel. They have "passport
citizenship" rights, but are excluded from several aspects of the Jewish welfare state and are therefore denied equal "democratic citizenship". While enjoying the fruits of Jewish civil rights, such as access to courts of law and private property; and political rights, access to the ballot and to government; they are denied social rights and economic rights in the form of social security, education and welfare, or access to land and water resources of the State.
The citizenship of Palestinians living on the West Bank
, within the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, also went through three stages.
After the creation of the state of Israel and before the passing of a new Jordanian Citizenship Law in 1954, Palestinians were incorporated into the Kingdom of Jordan.
In 1949, the Jordanian Council of Ministers added an article to their Citizenship Law of 1928 that read
A new Citizenship Law was passed in 1954. It granted Jordanian citizenship to the Palestinians living in the West Bank and refugees that had fled during the war. The third stage of citizenship for Jordanian-Palestinians began on the 31 of July 1988 when Jordan severed its relationship with the West Bank, they now decreed all those residing in the West Bank as "Palestinians".
Following the war of 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). It was created to give direct aid to the Palestinians that had fled from the war. These refugees were placed in 5 neighbouring Arab states, and these countries granted Palestinians traveling documents, which granted them few rights. The Casablanca Resolution of 1965, which was passed by the League of Arab States, resolved to grant the Palestinians living in the host countries the right to work in, travel from and return to the country of their residence, obtain traveling documents and receive entry visas to the Arab countries as any other national.
When Palestinians first arrived in Lebanon
in 1948 they were warmly received. In 1959 the Palestinian Refugees Department was created. This body was charged with dealing with refugee affairs, namely issuing travel documents, regulating personal status affairs such as birth and death certificates, locating sites for refugee camps, and so on. Palestinian refugees were issued travel documents that allowed them to travel abroad and to return to Lebanon. Refugees were also allowed, like Lebanese citizens, to travel between Syria
and Lebanon without having their travel document.
In 1995, the minister of interior issued Decree No. 478 which provided that Palestinians who have been refugees in Lebanon since 1948 have to apply for an exit visa from Lebanon and an entry visa in order to return to Lebanon.
The right to work in Lebanon was also granted to Palestinians, as outlined in the Labour Law of 1962. This decreed that a foreigner is allowed to work in Lebanon provided that his country allows Lebanese to work in that country, and that he obtains in advance a work permit. The first half of that regulation proved problematic for Palestinians due to the lack of th principle of reciprocity, no state of Palestine existed to enact a reciprocity rule. As for the second half of the rule, the Lebanese authorities issued a list of 60 activities that excluded workers with permits, this list excluded almost all menial jobs. The result of this law has been that more than one-half of the Palestinian refugees currently live below the poverty line.
Palestinians who lived in the Gaza Strip
when Israel came into being were issued with Egyptian travel documents which allowed them to move outside of the Gaza Strip, and Egypt
. Their status as refugees has been deteriorating rapidly since the 1970s. After 1948 they were allowed rights similar to Egyptian nationals, and in 1963 they were allowed to own agricultural land, nor did they have to acquire work visas. In 1964 the government decreed that Palestinian refugees had to obtain an exit visa, an entry visa or a transit visa. In 1976 a law was passed stating that no foreigners could own real property, although Palestinians were later granted the right to own agricultural land. In 1978 the ability of Palestinians to work in the civil service was revoked. Gradually the process of attaining travel documents for Palestinians has become more difficult. Jordanian Palestinians who hold two year passports are now required to obtain entry and exit visas to travel to Egypt.
Syria afforded Palestinians refugees all rights of residence, travel, work, business, and ownership on a temporary basis in 1948. In 1956 this status was cemented in the Law No. 260. Its first article states that all Palestinians residing in Syria at the date of its issuance shall be considered as Syrians in areas of employment, labour, trade,a nd national service provided they keep their Palestinian Citizenship. They thus enjoy equal rights in all aspects. They have equal rights of employment, in both public and private sectors, and are entitled to social security benefits, labour benefits, residence, education and travel. With regards to travel, the Syrian government issued Palestinian refugees with travel documents.
Those who fled to Iraq
enjoy equal rights concerning residence, work, and ownership of residential areas. They also have the right to join the civil service, with all the subsequent benefits. Given the current economic and political situation in Iraq, the quality of life for Palestinian refugees residing there has a questionable future.
drafted a piece of legislation in 1995 outlining its Citizenship Law. Article 7 of this legislation defines a Palestinian as anyone who "(1) was a holder of Palestinian citizenship (other than Jews) before 15 May 1948; (2) was born to a Palestinian father; (3) was born in Palestine to a Palestinian mother even if the citizenship of the father is not known; (4) was born in Palestine to unknown parents; and (5) was born outside of Palestine to a Palestinian mother and to a father whose nationality was not known – provided that this person opts for Palestinian citizenship within one year after reaching maturity, that he notifies the minister of interior of his intention to become a Palestinian citizen, that he becomes habitually a resident of Palestine, and that the minister does not object to this applicant within one year from the time he receives the notice from the applicant.
This Draft law does not take into account those Palestinians living in their diaspora. The PNA’s draft Citizenship Law does not address the criteria in terms of which the UNRWA-Palestinians could attain citizenship. The PNA’s concept of citizenship, when combined with their Election Law, incorporates the concepts of jus soli, jus sanguinis
and naturalization
.
usually support a geographical bassis as opposed to a religious one. But so-called "right of return" is not the equivalent of the Israeli Law of Return
(1950) which grants citizenship to any Jewish person and their family wishing to enter Israel.
, T.H. Marshall's utopian stage of development of nationality, is inconceivable without an established political citizenship (and an industrial economy), and political citizenship presupposes civil citizenship. To apply Marshall's standards of citizenship to the Middle East citizens, or Palestinians more specifically, is difficult. Citizenship requires the institutionalization of social and political rights within the framework of a given state, which the Palestinians do not have. Palestinians remain unable to access constituent demos in nearly every country they have come to reside in.
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...
have a history that is often linked to the history of the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
Nation, which is linked to the rise of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. When Islam was started by the prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
in 610 CE, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
was the major religion of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. Soon after the rise of Islam, Palestine was conquered and brought into the rapidly expanding Islamic empire. The Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
empire was the first of three successive dynasties to dominate the Arab-Islamic world and rule Palestine, followed by the Abbasids and the Fatimids. Muslim rule was briefly challenged and interrupted in parts of Palestine during the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, but was restored under the Mamluks.
After toppling the Mamluk state in 1517, the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
took control of most of the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
. Palestine existed within the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
as two districts, also referred to as Sanjaks. The legal origin of citizenship in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
was born of the Ottoman Citizenship Law of 19 January 1869 and the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
.
Origins
PalestinianPalestinian 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...
citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
has developed over the last century starting during the British Mandate era and in different form following the Oslo Peace process. There has never been a sovereign Palestinian authority to explicitly define who is a Palestinian.
British Mandate period
The Treaty of LausanneTreaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
came into force on August 6, 1924. It stated that the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
nationals who were "habitually residents" of what became Palestine "will become ipso facto" nationals of that state. Article 7 of the Mandate for Palestine stipulated that the British mandatory power "shall be responsible for enacting a nationality law". The British authority via the structure of the British Mandate of Palestine was directed to "facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in Palestine." Article 15 stated that "No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the inhabitants of Palestine on the ground of race, religion or language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine on the sole ground of his religious belief."
The first Palestine Citizenship Order was enacted by Britain on 24 July 1925; it was the first official enactment that outlined the legal definition of a Palestinian. Its first article defined a Palestinian as a "Turkish subject habitually resident in the territory of Palestine." It defined the territorial criteria for citizenship, and appeared to be nondiscriminatory legislation, which provided granting of citizenship to an applicant, irrespective of their race, religion or language. This order held until 14 May 1948, when the People's Council, representative of the Yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
or Jewish Community, declared the creation of the Jewish State
Jewish state
A homeland for the Jewish people was an idea that rose to the fore in the 19th century in the wake of growing anti-Semitism and Jewish assimilation. Jewish emancipation in Europe paved the way for two ideological solutions to the Jewish Question: cultural assimilation, as envisaged by Moses...
of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
pursuant to the relevant UN resolution............
Palestinian citzenship during the League of Nations Mandate included both Arabs and Jews as well as other ethnic groups that resided in the territory (Druze, Armenians, Circassians, etc). During these decades Jews embraced the term (the Palestine Post, the Palestine Brewery, the Palestine Brigades were all Jewish organizations) while the Arabs generally disdained and distanced themselves from it (arguing that Palestine was a "Zionist Invention").
Creation of Israel
The creation of the State of Israel coincided with the disintegration of the pre-existing British Mandate. This meant that Palestinian Arabs had no citizenship, but could be categorized in 4 ways: 1. Arabs who remained in Israel; 2. Those who became refugees; 3. Palestinian Arabs who became citizens of JordanJordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
; and 4. Arabs who remained in or relocated to the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.
Palestinians then ceased to be only Palestinian, but were either Israeli-Palestinians
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
; Jordanian Palestinians, United Nations Relief and Works Agency-Palestinians, and Gaza-Palestinians.
The first Israeli Nationality Law
Israeli nationality law
Israel's nationality law defines the terms through which one can be granted citizenship of the state of Israel. It also includes the Right of return for Jewish diaspora...
was passed on the 14 July 1952. From the time that Israel was created to July 1952, Palestinians were "stateless
Stateless nation
A stateless nation is a group, usually a minority ethnic group, considered as a nation entitled to its own state for that nation. Since there are few objective criteria for whether a particular group is a nation, or which particular group "has" any given multinational state, usage of the term is...
." Israeli courts rendered the former Palestinian citizenship, given by the British administration to Jews, Arabs and other inhabitants of the region, "devoid of substance," "not satisfactory and is inappropriate to the situation following the establishment of Israel". The Israeli Nationality Law effectively denationalized Palestinians. It granted every "Jew" who immigrated to Israel, or, following the 1971 amendment, even expressed the desire to immigrate to Israel, "immediate" Israeli citizenship without taking any formal steps. It retroactively altered the Palestinian Citizenship Orders, stating that they had to be "repealed with effect from the day of the establishment of the State".
In order to obtain Israeli citizenship, Palestinians had to prove that they had a) been registered in the Inhabitants Registration in 1949; had been an inhabitant of Israel on 14 July 1952; had been in Israel or in an area that later came into Israel between the establishment of Israel and July 14, 1952; or had entered legally during that period. These proved difficult for many Palestinians to fulfil because many at the time had no proof of Palestinian citizenship, and those who had identity cards were forced to surrender them to the Israeli army during or soon after the war. Attaining status as a Registered Inhabitant was also difficult because there was a "deliberate attempt [by Israeli Forces] to not register many [Palestinian] villages Those who failed to attain legal status remained in Israel as stateless persons.
An amendment to the Israeli Nationality Law was passed in 1968 This amendment stipulated that a Palestinian must apply within 3 years of turning 18 years of age, and had to prove that they had been a resident of Israel for five consecutive years prior to their application. A further amendment was passed in 1980 which alleviated the article that has previously required the applicant to have been in Israel between May 1948 and July 1952.
Following the 1980 amendment to Israel's Nationality Law, Palestinians were strictly legal citizens of the State of Israel. They have "passport
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....
citizenship" rights, but are excluded from several aspects of the Jewish welfare state and are therefore denied equal "democratic citizenship". While enjoying the fruits of Jewish civil rights, such as access to courts of law and private property; and political rights, access to the ballot and to government; they are denied social rights and economic rights in the form of social security, education and welfare, or access to land and water resources of the State.
Living in the West Bank
The citizenship of Palestinians living on the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, within the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, also went through three stages.
After the creation of the state of Israel and before the passing of a new Jordanian Citizenship Law in 1954, Palestinians were incorporated into the Kingdom of Jordan.
In 1949, the Jordanian Council of Ministers added an article to their Citizenship Law of 1928 that read
A new Citizenship Law was passed in 1954. It granted Jordanian citizenship to the Palestinians living in the West Bank and refugees that had fled during the war. The third stage of citizenship for Jordanian-Palestinians began on the 31 of July 1988 when Jordan severed its relationship with the West Bank, they now decreed all those residing in the West Bank as "Palestinians".
UNRWA
Following the war of 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). It was created to give direct aid to the Palestinians that had fled from the war. These refugees were placed in 5 neighbouring Arab states, and these countries granted Palestinians traveling documents, which granted them few rights. The Casablanca Resolution of 1965, which was passed by the League of Arab States, resolved to grant the Palestinians living in the host countries the right to work in, travel from and return to the country of their residence, obtain traveling documents and receive entry visas to the Arab countries as any other national.
Lebanon
When Palestinians first arrived in 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...
in 1948 they were warmly received. In 1959 the Palestinian Refugees Department was created. This body was charged with dealing with refugee affairs, namely issuing travel documents, regulating personal status affairs such as birth and death certificates, locating sites for refugee camps, and so on. Palestinian refugees were issued travel documents that allowed them to travel abroad and to return to Lebanon. Refugees were also allowed, like Lebanese citizens, to travel between 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....
and Lebanon without having their travel document.
In 1995, the minister of interior issued Decree No. 478 which provided that Palestinians who have been refugees in Lebanon since 1948 have to apply for an exit visa from Lebanon and an entry visa in order to return to Lebanon.
The right to work in Lebanon was also granted to Palestinians, as outlined in the Labour Law of 1962. This decreed that a foreigner is allowed to work in Lebanon provided that his country allows Lebanese to work in that country, and that he obtains in advance a work permit. The first half of that regulation proved problematic for Palestinians due to the lack of th principle of reciprocity, no state of Palestine existed to enact a reciprocity rule. As for the second half of the rule, the Lebanese authorities issued a list of 60 activities that excluded workers with permits, this list excluded almost all menial jobs. The result of this law has been that more than one-half of the Palestinian refugees currently live below the poverty line.
Egypt
Palestinians who lived in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
when Israel came into being were issued with Egyptian travel documents which allowed them to move outside of the Gaza Strip, and 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...
. Their status as refugees has been deteriorating rapidly since the 1970s. After 1948 they were allowed rights similar to Egyptian nationals, and in 1963 they were allowed to own agricultural land, nor did they have to acquire work visas. In 1964 the government decreed that Palestinian refugees had to obtain an exit visa, an entry visa or a transit visa. In 1976 a law was passed stating that no foreigners could own real property, although Palestinians were later granted the right to own agricultural land. In 1978 the ability of Palestinians to work in the civil service was revoked. Gradually the process of attaining travel documents for Palestinians has become more difficult. Jordanian Palestinians who hold two year passports are now required to obtain entry and exit visas to travel to Egypt.
Syria
Syria afforded Palestinians refugees all rights of residence, travel, work, business, and ownership on a temporary basis in 1948. In 1956 this status was cemented in the Law No. 260. Its first article states that all Palestinians residing in Syria at the date of its issuance shall be considered as Syrians in areas of employment, labour, trade,a nd national service provided they keep their Palestinian Citizenship. They thus enjoy equal rights in all aspects. They have equal rights of employment, in both public and private sectors, and are entitled to social security benefits, labour benefits, residence, education and travel. With regards to travel, the Syrian government issued Palestinian refugees with travel documents.
Iraq
Those who fled to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
enjoy equal rights concerning residence, work, and ownership of residential areas. They also have the right to join the civil service, with all the subsequent benefits. Given the current economic and political situation in Iraq, the quality of life for Palestinian refugees residing there has a questionable future.
Palestinian Nationality Authority defines "Palestinian"
The Palestinian National AuthorityPalestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
drafted a piece of legislation in 1995 outlining its Citizenship Law. Article 7 of this legislation defines a Palestinian as anyone who "(1) was a holder of Palestinian citizenship (other than Jews) before 15 May 1948; (2) was born to a Palestinian father; (3) was born in Palestine to a Palestinian mother even if the citizenship of the father is not known; (4) was born in Palestine to unknown parents; and (5) was born outside of Palestine to a Palestinian mother and to a father whose nationality was not known – provided that this person opts for Palestinian citizenship within one year after reaching maturity, that he notifies the minister of interior of his intention to become a Palestinian citizen, that he becomes habitually a resident of Palestine, and that the minister does not object to this applicant within one year from the time he receives the notice from the applicant.
This Draft law does not take into account those Palestinians living in their diaspora. The PNA’s draft Citizenship Law does not address the criteria in terms of which the UNRWA-Palestinians could attain citizenship. The PNA’s concept of citizenship, when combined with their Election Law, incorporates the concepts of jus soli, jus sanguinis
Jus sanguinis
Ius sanguinis is a social policy by which citizenship is not determined by place of birth, but by having a parent who are citizens of the nation...
and naturalization
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
.
Doctrine of return
Resolution 194 of the UN General Assembly in 1948, "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so." But the Resolution also states: "Instructs the Conciliation Commission to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees" as an alternative to "return". Some argue that this has been converted into customary international law, enshrined as 'the right of return,' but UN General Assembly Resolutions do not establish international law. Those who argue for a right of returnRight of return
The term right of return refers to a principle of international law, codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, giving any person the right to return to, and re-enter, his or her country of origin...
usually support a geographical bassis as opposed to a religious one. But so-called "right of return" is not the equivalent of the Israeli Law of Return
Law of Return
The Law of Return is Israeli legislation, passed on 5 July 1950, that gives Jews the right of return and settlement in Israel and gain citizenship...
(1950) which grants citizenship to any Jewish person and their family wishing to enter Israel.
Citizenship Regulation
The PNA's draft Citizenship Law bestows the executive branch the right to grant, annul, or withdraw citizenship.Citizens without a State
Social citizenshipSocial citizenship
Social citizenship was a term first coined by T.H. Marshall, who argued that the ideal citizenship experience entails access to political, civil and social rights in a state...
, T.H. Marshall's utopian stage of development of nationality, is inconceivable without an established political citizenship (and an industrial economy), and political citizenship presupposes civil citizenship. To apply Marshall's standards of citizenship to the Middle East citizens, or Palestinians more specifically, is difficult. Citizenship requires the institutionalization of social and political rights within the framework of a given state, which the Palestinians do not have. Palestinians remain unable to access constituent demos in nearly every country they have come to reside in.
Notations
- Badi, J. Ed. "Fundamental Laws of the State of Israel" (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1961)
- Bentwich, Norman De Mattos. "Nationality In Mandated Territories Detached From Turkey". British Yearbook Of International Law, Vol. 7 (1926): 97-103.
- Butenschon, N.A. Ed.; Davis, U. Ed.; Hassassian, M. Ed. "Citizenship and the State in the Middle East: Approaches and Applications" (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2000)
- Davis, U. "Jinsiyya versus Muwatana: The Question of Citizenship and the State in the Middle East-The Case of Israel, Jordan, and Palestine." in Arab Studies Quarterly 17, nos. 1-2, 1995.
- Hurewitz, J.C. "Diplomacy in the Near and Middle East: A Documentary Record 1914-1956" (New York: Praeger, 1956)
- Khalidi, R. "The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood" (Boston: Beacon Press, 2006)
- Lauterpacht, Sir H., Ed. "International Law Reports 1950" (London: Butterworth & Co., 1956)
- Shehadeh, R. "Occupier's Law: Israel and the West Bank" (Washington, D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1985)
- Tessler, M. "A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1994)
External links
- UNRWA
- Palestinian National Authority Draft Law
- Palestinian Human Rights Groups
- Israel-Palestine Centre for Research
- Palestine Remembered
- Israel Information for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories