Israel/Palestine: Procedure for Palestinians who lived in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip to return there; the documents required; the consequences of not having those documents; how these people are treated based on point of return (Ben Gurion Airport, Allenby Bridge, border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip); how these people are treated based on their country of origin (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan); whether there are categories of persons who are inadmissible to the Occupied Territories (2002-October 2004)

Documents that Palestinians are required to present in order to return to the Occupied Territories

The director of the BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights provided the following information in correspondence sent to the Research Directorate on 20 October 2004.

The documents required depend on the place of residence (West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem). A person who does not have a particular document can sometimes provide others that are equally acceptable. For example, all Palestinians residing in the Gaza Strip or in the West Bank (except East Jerusalem) who want to return to the Occupied Territories require, in theory, a valid travel document issued by the Palestinian Authority (a Palestinian Authority Passport). According to the BADIL Resource Center, "these documents have been issued by the Palestinian Authority since 1994 with approval by Israeli authorities" and indicate that the bearer's name appears on the Israeli military authorities' population registry (in other words, that the person is recognized as a resident of the Occupied Territories) (20 Oct. 2004).

However, residents of the West Bank-including East Jerusalem-can also use a valid Jordanian passport or a green card (issued to West Bank residents) or a yellow card (issued to Jordanian citizens) (BADIL 20 Oct. 2004). Green cards and Jordanian passports are required for entry into Jordan (ibid.). The director of the BADIL Resource Centre also added that it is vital that a person still hold "valid residence status in the [Occupied Territories] (including East Jerusalem) under Israeli (military) orders and regulations" (ibid.). A travel document issued by Israel which was renewed abroad and which is still valid or a valid exit permit issued by Israel with a stamp indicating the date of exit from the Occupied Territories (to Jordan) can be used to indicate that the bearer has valid residence status in the Occupied Territories (ibid.).

In correspondence sent to the Research Directorate on 18 October 2004, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) provided the following information regarding the documents required to return to the West Bank. A person who wants to return to the West Bank but who does not have a Palestinian passport can use a Jordanian passport, together with an Israeli/Palestinian Personal Identification Card and a Tassrehh, "a document that acts as a ticket of exit and return throughout the Israeli point of entry" (PHRMG 18 Oct. 2004).

According to the director of the BADIL Resource Center, residents of the Gaza Strip who do not have a Palestinian Authority Passport can use an Egyptian travel document, but this document does not permit them to re-enter Egypt (unless special permission is attached) or to return to Gaza via Israel (20 Oct. 2004).

The PHRMG spokesperson stated that the only way to exit from and return to the Gaza Strip is to cross the Gaza-Egypt border (18 Oct. 2004).

Consequences of not having the required documents

Two sources indicated that Palestinians lacking the required documents cannot return to the Occupied Territories (PHRMG 18 Oct. 2004; IPCRI 20 Oct. 2004). Furthermore, a spokesperson for the Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) indicated in correspondence sent on 20 October 2004 that, without a permit, a person could not even access Ben Gurion Airport.

According to the BADIL Resource Center director, Palestinians who do not have the aforementioned documents probably left the Occupied Territories before 1994, that is, prior to the Israeli-Palestinian Accord on Palestinian residence status in the Territories (ibid.). According to the director, Israel has likely revoked their residence status and therefore they cannot return to the Occupied Territories unless they obtain special authorization from the Israeli authorities (ibid.).

However, this source also indicated that people who left the Occupied Territories after 1994 and whose documents had expired could attempt to renew their Palestinian Authority Passport (with a legal representative in the Occupied Territories) or to obtain "clarification [or] permission from the Israeli authorities" (ibid.). The director also indicated that if these attempts were unsuccessful, these people would not be permitted to return to the Occupied Territories (ibid.).

The director of the BADIL Resource Center stated that a resident of East Jerusalem may face additional problems, even if he or she holds an Israeli laissez-passer, because the issuance of a residence permit by Israel depends on the ability to prove that the town is a "center of life" for the resident (ibid.). Former Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem who have lived abroad for a prolonged period are likely to find that their right to permanent residence status has been revoked because they could not effectively document their ties to the city (ibid.).

Treatment based on point of return

The rules stipulate that Palestinians must return to the Occupied Territories via their point of exit (ibid.; IPCRI 20 Oct. 2004). Sources indicated that Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories cannot enter or exit the Territories via Ben Gurion Airport (unless they hold a special permit issued by the Israeli authorities) (BADIL Centre 20 Oct. 2004; IPCRI 20 Oct. 2004; PHRMG 18 Oct. 2004). According to the IPCRI spokesperson, this restriction has been in effect since March 2004 (20 Oct. 2004). The PHRMG spokesperson corroborated this information, adding that Palestinians are granted special permission to enter via Ben Gurion Airport for medical emergencies only (18 Oct. 2004). Country Reports 2003 indicated that "Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza were prohibited from using the Sheikh Hussein or Arava crossings" to re-enter the Occupied Territories (Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004, Sec. 2.d). These two entry points "were closed completely several times during the year [2003]" (Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004, Sec. 2.d). Residents could therefore return to the Occupied Territories only through Jordan or the Rafah crossing point on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip (ibid.; BADIL Center 20 Oct. 2004).

The PHRMG spokesperson stated that almost all West Bank Palestinians use the Allenby Bridge to exit and enter the West Bank; residents of the Gaza Strip enter only rarely through this point (ibid.).

PHRMG considers the Gaza-Egypt border as the only point through which Gaza residents can enter or exit the Gaza Strip (18 Oct. 2004). The director of the BADIL Resource Centre indicated that former residents of the Gaza Strip who succeed in entering the West Bank would probably not be able to return to the Gaza Strip because "movement from the West Bank to the Strip is severely restricted by the Israeli authorities" (20 Oct. 2004). The director stated that returning to Gaza "requires a special permit which is hardly ever issued" (ibid).

Treatment based on country of origin

According to the PHRMG spokesperson, the likelihood of being admitted to the Occupied Territories does not depend on a person's country of origin (18 Oct. 2004). The director of the BADIL Resource Center stated that only former residents of the Occupied Territories whose names appear on the Israeli Military Authorities population registry could return to the Territories (ibid.). The director stated that only Palestinians originally from the Occupied Territories and "Palestinian 1948 refugees from Israel" who have residence status in the Territories are admitted (ibid.).

The IPCRI spokesperson stated that "origin is not important" for Palestinians who are residents of the Territories and who have been issued an identification card and the relevant travel documents by the Palestinian Authority with Israel's approval (20 Oct. 2004). However, the spokesperson indicated that, as far as he knew, Israel has not issued any new identification cards to Palestinians from outside the Occupied Territories for the last four years (IPCRI 20 Oct. 2004). He added that Palestinians with "friendly" passports can return to the Territories as tourists, and it is therefore recommended that they enter through land crossings; if they have the required passports, they can enter through Ben Gurion Airport (ibid.).

Categories of persons who are inadmissible to the Occupied Territories

The director of the BADIL Resource Center stated that most Palestinians are inadmissible to the Occupied Territories (BADIL Centre 20 Oct. 2004). Among the categories of inadmissible persons are "those who have not held legal resident status in the [Territories] under the Israeli military regime prior to their departure (i.e. large majority of Palestinian refugees); persons who held legal resident status in the [Territories] before but whose exit permit/travel documents have expired and cannot be renewed via the Israeli authorities of the Palestinian Authority; persons with valid travel documents who are denied re-admission by the Israeli authorities for alleged security reasons;" and "Palestinians who have held (temporary) residence in other countries" (ibid.; see also IPCRI 20 Oct. 2004). According to the PHRMG spokesperson, among the people who cannot return to the Occupied Territories are those who lost their permission documents and those who stayed abroad longer than permitted (18 Oct. 2004).

The IPCRI spokesperson, for his part, indicated that persons originally from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel are not admitted to the Occupied Territories (20 Oct. 2004).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Bethlehem. 20 October 2004. Correspondence from the director.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2003. 25 February 2004. United States Department of State, Washington, DC. [Accessed 18 Oct. 2004]

Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI). 20 October 2004. Correspondence from a spokesperson.

Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG). 20 August 2004. Correspondence from a spokesperson.

Additional Sources Consulted

Attempts to reach the following organizations were unsuccessful.

– Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights

– Ad-Dameer Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association

– Al-Haq Institute

– Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights

– Amnesty International (Israel)

– B'Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights

– The Democracy and Workers' Rights Center

– Early Childhood Resource Center

– Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC)

– Land Research Center (LRC), Jerusalem

– The Palestinian Center for Human Rights

– Palestinian Diplomatic Mission, Amman

– Palestinian Diplomatic Mission, Cairo

– The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations' Network (PNGO Net)

– Palestinian Refugee and Diaspora Center (Shaml)

– United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

– Women's Studies Centre