Palestinian passport
The Passport of the Palestinian Authority ( Arabic جواز سفر Dschawaz safar , DMG Ǧawāz safar ) is the identification document issued to citizens in the Palestinian Territories since 1995 under the Oslo Accords of 1993 for general travel abroad.
This document is only required for trips abroad and can only be issued to holders of a Palestinian identity number. The pass is not a substitute for an identity card, which you still need to carry. It is currently valid for five years. Re-entry into the Palestinian territories is possible with a valid passport.
Exit card
For border crossings to Jordan over the Allenby Bridge , a special copy of the identity card, called Tasrich , is sufficient . Even those in possession of a new passport should have such a document made as a precaution, since it often takes several days for the Israelis to have the passport data ready in their system at the border and until then it is not possible to cross the border. Since the situation changes every year, the investment of the equivalent of around 10 euros is a cheap hedge.
Dual citizens
Palestinians who have acquired (another) citizenship but are in possession of an ID number administered by Israel can only use the Palestinian passport to enter the country. The new citizenship is not recognized by Israel, but it can be helpful. You are therefore forced to carry two passports if you want to travel to your old home. By changing names (e.g. through marriage) in the new state, the two passports can also be issued with different names. In any case, a note on the presence of an ID number will be stamped in every new foreign passport on first entry. The name and ID number on the identity card are entered in Hebrew script . This is intended to immediately notice during checks that the bearer of the passport is not considered a foreigner. Entry into Jordan must also be done with a Palestinian passport if you want to continue traveling over the Allenby Bridge, and you save yourself the visa fee, which is not levied on Palestinians.
Since Palestinians are portrayed as stateless, they are not affected by the obligation to discard their old nationality or to apply for permission to dual citizenship (e.g. in Austria within two years according to Section 28 StbG).
Appearance
Since April 2009, the Palestinian passport has consisted of a black envelope cover on which the coat of arms of the autonomous authority, as well as the words “ Palestinian Authority ” and “Passport” in Arabic and English are printed in gold. Underneath there is "Travel Document", for countries like the USA, which prefer this term for the document, as it is not proof of citizenship . The passport consists of 48 pages, is bound according to the Arabic direction of writing and has security features of the European Union and ICAO . In contrast to the identity card, there are no forms or entries in Hebrew . The data is printed in both Arabic and Latin script; in addition to your own first name, the first names of the father, grandfather and mother are also given. In addition, the ID number and the profession are entered.
On the second page (inside cover) the legal basis for the passport is given in Arabic and English:
"THIS PASSPORT / TRAVEL DOCUMENT IS ISSUED PERSUANT TO THE PALESTINIAN SELF GOVERNMENT AGREEMENT AGREEMENT ACCORDING TO OSLO AGREEMENT SIGNED IN WASHINGTON ON 13/9/1993."
German translation: This passport / travel document is issued in accordance with the Palestinian Autonomy Agreement under the Oslo Treaty, signed on September 13, 1993 in Washington.
After the UN vote on November 29, 2012, through which the State of Palestine was granted observer status, the Palestinian Authority decided to rename it to "State of Palestine" in January 2013, but out of concern that Israel would not recognize passports issued with this name , this name is not yet printed on it.
history
Under the British mandate from July 1, 1920 to May 14, 1948, there were separate British mandate passports for the whole of Palestine called "British Passport - Palestine". However, with this passport you were not a British citizen.
From 1948 to 1967, Palestinians in the West Bank were given Jordanian passports, but these also contained special entries that distinguished the passport from those of citizens of the home country. Gaza residents were only given travel documents from the Egyptian military administration. Palestinians who had remained in Israel received Israeli citizenship in 1952 and were given Israeli passports (with restrictions until 1966). See: Arab Israelis .
From 1967 to 1995, Palestinians in the territories occupied by Israel could only travel with Jordanian passports or travel documents for stateless persons . At first they were also able to acquire Jordanian citizenship. Since July 31, 1988, Jordanian passports have only been issued as travel documents, which means that Jordanian citizenship is not given. These passes are still available now. This also applies to most of the 250,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem , who are officially stateless, as only 12,000 of them acquired Israeli citizenship between 1967 and 2007 and are no longer Palestinian for Israel. Palestinian East Jerusalemites can get Israeli travel documents as well as Jordanian ones.
The Palestinian Authority began to issue passports to private individuals on April 2, 1995, and Saeb Erekat received the first diplomatic passport signed by Yasser Arafat the day before. Until March 2009, the passports were dark green and only valid for three years. Passport photos for women had a red background, for men a blue background. The passports were made in France.
At first there was only one printing company in Gaza that issued all passports. The documents or the finished passports for the West Bank had to be sent via Israel, which led to longer waiting times for the issue, especially during the Second Intifada . There has also been a printer in Ramallah since 2006 and the exhibition sometimes only lasts one day. The reason that such a small country has two passport printing companies (for comparison: Austria only needs one for many more passports) is different:
Since Hamas came to power in the Gaza Strip, the government in Ramallah has insisted that all passports should only be issued or confirmed by officials appointed by them. However, this was rejected in the Gaza Interior Ministry. The delivery of empty passports to Gaza was then stopped. This means that all new passports are currently only issued in Ramallah. However, applicants have to organize the submission of applications and passports privately. This has led to passports being extended in Gaza. There is a separate page for this, but it is not used in practice. These passports are therefore only recognized by a few countries. With this measure, Ramallah wants to control who gets a new passport and who does not and allegedly has a blacklist of 30,000 rumored names.
VIP passes
Again and again, media-effective passports were issued to politicians and artists who are not Palestinians, e.g. E.g .: George Galloway (GB), Daniel Barenboim (IL), Kair Willoch (N). These are to be understood as honorary citizenship (of a non-existent state) and are not recognized by Israel.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Travel information from the Austrian Foreign Ministry ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Occupied Palestinian Territories Bulletin , UK Border Agency, June 2010
- ↑ http://israelpalestinenewscompiler.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/new-palestinian-passports-available-beginning-sunday/
- ^ US Citizenship and Immigration Services
- ↑ Abbas avoids clash with Israel over state symbols , Ha-Aretz on January 8, 2013
- ↑ http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/06/2011615112156348594.html Al-Jazeera
- ^ The Washington Report
- ↑ http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/06/2011615112156348594.html Al-Jazeera
- ^ BB News
- ^ Ha-Aretz January 13, 2008
- ↑ http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=12549
