West Bank and Gaza Strip: Whether a person who was born stateless in Lebanon of Palestinian parents would be permitted to apply for Palestinian citizenship since the establishment of Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and if so, to whom must he or she submit his or her application, and what criteria must be met in order to be eligible for Palestinian citizenship
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PAL29434.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, West Bank and Gaza Strip: Whether a person who was born stateless in Lebanon of Palestinian parents would be permitted to apply for Palestinian citizenship since the establishment of Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and if so, to whom must he or she submit his or her application, and what criteria must be met in order to be eligible for Palestinian citizenship, 1 May 1998, PAL29434.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab8d5c.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The following are selections from an article entitled "The Palestinian Authority and Citizenship in the Palestinian Territories." It is posted on the Palestinian Authority's official Internet Website at < http://www.pna.net/ >. The article was written by Dr. Mohammed S. Dajani, an adviser to the Public Administration Development department of the Palestinian Authority.
To exercise the right of residency in the Palestinian Territories, vote in national elections or hold public office, a person must be a Palestinian citizen. ... To become a citizen, one must file a petition with the Ministry of Interior of the Palestinian Authority. To be allowed to do so, his father must be an Arab Palestinian living in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip and holding an Israeli identification card.
... Palestinian citizenship is governed by the principle of jus sanguine (Law of Blood/Right of the Blood) ( by reason of blood, which gives children the citizenship of their parents. ... Citizenship is conferred on all persons born in the Palestinian Territories to Palestinian Arab parents who carry Israeli identification cards ( [a] condition imposed by the Oslo Agreement. ... A baby is also a Palestinian citizen if he was born abroad of a father holding a Palestinian citizenship provided that he resides in the Palestinian Territories and holds an Israeli identification card. If a baby is born in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, territories under the sovereignty of the Palestinian Authority, he is a Palestinian citizen only if his parents are citizens.
Palestinian citizenship is also conferred to the Returnees ... ( PLO persons returning to WB/GS and who receive prior approval to return from both PA President Yasser Arafat and the Israeli authorities.
The rule of jus sanguine is not applied to children born outside the Palestinian Territories. Such children do not automatically have Palestinian citizenship ... If only the mother is a Palestinian citizen, the child is not recognized as a Palestinian citizen even if the mother meets the residence qualifications.
... A Palestinian born in a foreign country may not become a Palestinian citizen even through the process of naturalization.
Except under very special cases, Palestinian citizenship may not be acquired by naturalization, a process of acquiring citizenship by legal means rather than by blood.
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 to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Palestinian National Authority [Internet]. Palestinian National Authority Official Website: Special Reports: "The Palestinian Authority and Citizenship in the Palestinian Territories."
Attachment
Palestinian National Authority [Internet]. Palestinian National Authority Official Website: Special Reports: "The Palestinian Authority and Citizenship in the Palestinian Territories."
