Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Consequence of the Acquisition of a Palestinian Authority Passport or an Egyptian Travel Document

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, speaking from his own point of view, indicated that the acquisition of a Palestinian Authority (PA) passport "would lead to loss of Jordanian nationality" (Middle East Researcher 30 Jan. 2018). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a legal researcher at BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights [1] stated that "acquisition of a PA passport or an Egyptian travel document [by Palestinians] leads to the loss of [Jordanian] citizenship and the right to acquire it" (BADIL 26 Jan. 2018). Corroborating information on the consequence of the acquisition of an Egyptian travel document could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Jordanian Citizenship for Palestinians

According to the Middle East Researcher,

denationalizations occur pursuant to Jordan's 1988 "disengagement instructions" which aimed to remove Jordanian nationality from West Bank residents in 1988. These denationalizations continue to go on today and are carried out by a special directorate of the [Jordanian] Ministry of Interior called the "Follow-Up and Investigation Directorate." (Middle East Researcher 30 Jan. 2018)

Similarly, a 2016 article by Al-Monitor [2] states that Jordan "started distinguishing between refugees (who have Jordanian citizenship) and displaced persons (who hold a temporary passport) after Jordan's late King Hussein bin Talal announced the disengagement between Jordan and the West Bank" in 1988 (Al-Monitor 2 Feb. 2016).

According to a 2010 report by Human Rights Watch, "since 1988, and especially over the past few years, the Jordanian government has been arbitrarily and without notice withdrawing Jordanian nationality from its citizens of Palestinian origin, making them stateless" (Human Rights Watch Feb. 2010, 1). According to the same source, "Jordan has withdrawn its nationality from thousands of its citizens of Palestinian origin - over 2,700 between 2004 and 2008 alone," and, in the cases studied by Human Rights Watch, "in an arbitrary manner and in violation of Jordan's nationality law of 1954," according to which "Palestinian residents of the West Bank in 1949 or thereafter received full Jordanian nationality" (Human Rights Watch Feb. 2010, 1).

According to sources, West Bank Palestinians are issued green travel cards by Jordanian authorities (Al-Monitor 4 Sept. 2016; Human Rights Watch Feb. 2010, 2). The Al-Monitor article states that Palestinians "holding Jordanian citizenship" are issued yellow cards (Al-Monitor 4 Sept. 2016). According to the 2010 Human Rights Watch report, yellow travel cards have been issued to West Bankers residing in Jordan (Human Rights Watch Feb. 2010, 2). According to the same source, the color-coded cards system

created three tiers of citizenship rights, differentiating original East Bank Jordanians and the two groups of West Bank-origin Jordanian nationals (whom Jordanian law still formally considered its nationals and citizens with equal rights). Jordanians residing in the West Bank sometimes lost their right to live in the East Bank [Jordan]. Today, possession of a green or yellow card can serve as the official basis for withdrawing nationality. (Human Rights Watch Feb. 2010, 2)

Al-Monitor indicates that "[a]ny Palestinian born in Gaza or born to a parent from Gaza is considered by Jordan to be a Gazan Palestinian" and is assigned a "blue bridge card" (Al-Monitor 4 Sept. 2016). A 2016 Haaretz article cites a former Palestinian Communications Minister as stating that "some 50,000 West Bank residents are blue-card holders, along with nearly all the residents of Gaza" (Haaretz 16 May 2016).

The 2010 Human Rights Watch report states, regarding the 1988 Jordanian severing of ties with the West Bank, that although "Jordanians of Palestinian West Bank or Jerusalem origin then living in Jordan's East Bank or residing in a third country generally maintained their Jordanian nationality," this is changing for "Jordanians of Palestinian origin living in Jordan, as officials cancel, in a haphazard and arbitrary manner, the so-called national number that each Jordanian acquires as proof of Jordanian nationality" (Human Rights Watch Feb. 2010, 2). According to the same report, "[h]undreds of thousands of Jordanians of Palestinian origin appear liable to have their national number revoked" (Human Rights Watch Feb. 2010, 2). A 2012 article by The Jerusalem Post, an English-language Israeli newspaper, states that, in recent years, Jordan has "stripped thousands of Palestinians of their Jordanian citizenship" (The Jerusalem Post 11 Apr. 2012).

According to a December 2015 report released by the Middle East Monitor (MEMO), a "not-for-profit policy media institute that provides research, information and analyses" of the Palestine-Israel conflict and other Middle East issues (MEMO Dec. 2015, 2), "the new instructions sent from the [M]inistry of the [I]nterior to parliament for approval have decided to revoke" citizenship in cases including "[t]hose with a Palestinian travel document" and "[t]hose with a green card" (MEMO Dec. 2015, 10-11). The report states that this information was obtained through from "leaks published by Jordan's [Arabic-language] Al-Arab Al-Yawm newspaper," which the report states were "confirmed by a parliamentary source the next day even though the Jordanian government spokesperson denied this" (MEMO Dec. 2015, 10). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.1 Implementation of Revocation of Citizenship

The 2010 Human Rights Watch report provides the following information:

Withdrawal of nationality in fact has not been based on Jordanian law, but on vague interpretations of the 1988 severance decision and on new, unwritten conditions that lack a clear legal basis. Jordanian officials claim that Jordanians of Palestinian origin must renew their residency permit for the West Bank as issued by the Israeli military's Civil Administration in order to maintain their Jordanian nationality. This Israeli permit grants the right to reside in the West Bank, and, therefore (for those permit-holders residing elsewhere) the right to return to the West Bank should a Palestinian state come into being. Some Jordanians have been unable to renew this permit, and on this basis had their Jordanian nationality withdrawn. Others had never obtained that permit, having lived in Jordan all their lives, or have an open-ended residency permit from the Israelis that does not require renewal, but nevertheless had their nationality withdrawn.

No official informs those whose nationality has been withdrawn of that decision: rather, they are told that they are no longer Jordanian nationals during routine interactions with the bureaucracy such as renewing passports, registering a child's birth, renewing a driver's license, or trying to sell shares. (Human Rights Watch Feb. 2010, 3)

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the legal researcher at BADIL, "for Palestinians residing in the West Bank with Jordanian citizenship, usually this is revoked when crossing the border to Jordan. The Jordanian passport will be taken from them, and they will be given the option to obtain a temporary Jordanian passport, if desired" (BADIL 26 Jan. 2018). According to sources, temporary passports are travel documents and do not have a national number (Middle East Researcher 30 Jan. 2018; BADIL 26 Jan. 2018) and thus do "not denote Jordanian citizenship" (Middle East Researcher 30 Jan. 2018). According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016, Palestinians "still holding residency in the West Bank after 1967 were no longer eligible to claim full citizenship but could obtain temporary travel documents without national identification numbers, provided they did not also carry a Palestinian Authority travel document" (US 3 Mar. 2017, 40). For information on passports issued to stateless Palestinians by Jordan and by the Palestinian Authority, see Response to Information Request ZZZ105324 of October 2015.

3. Impact on Residency Status and Access to Services

According to the legal researcher at BADIL, "if a Palestinian loses the Jordanian citizenship, then they also lose all the benefits associated with it"; "they can access the same services a foreigner can" (BADIL 26 Jan. 2018). According to a 2014 article by Shaul M. Gabbay, then Senior Scholar at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver (Global Research Institute n.d.), and published in Political Sciences & Public Affairs [3], when "Palestinians are deprived of their nationality[,] they lose all the social, political, and economic rights that being a Jordanian citizen bestows" (Gabbay 2014, 6). According to the same source, the "national number," removal of which strips one of Jordanian nationality, "allows citizens to enjoy basic rights, and is needed for a myriad of day-to-day necessities. For example, the national number is required to acquire a driver's license, to buy and sell property (including stocks and bonds), vote, and open a bank account" (Gabbay 2014, 1). The same source also indicates that "Palestinians without a national number are not eligible for state employment. This means that they are barred from entering the public sector, and can be fired from current employment no matter the length of time or status in such a position" (Gabbay 2014, 2).

According to US Country Reports 2016, Palestinians with "temporary travel documents without national identification numbers" had "access to some government services but paid noncitizen rates at hospitals, educational institutions, and training centers" (US 3 Mar. 2017, 40). The Middle East Researcher stated that "without a temporary passport or residency, an individual would face challenges obtaining employment, education, and other services. Medical care at government facilities would be accessible, but at a much higher 'foreigners' rate" (Middle East Researcher 30 Jan. 2018). Al-Monitor indicates that Palestinians that do not have "full citizenship and hold a temporary Jordanian passport that must be renewed every two years … cannot work in state institutions, but only in the private sector without official work permits from the government" (Al-Monitor 2 Feb. 2016). According to the same source,

[t]hese Palestinians are only allowed to study in public universities, where they enroll within a parallel education system for foreigners. In this context, thousands of Palestinian students who do not have a national ID or Jordanian nationality are treated as foreign students and pay university fees in US dollars instead of the Jordanian dinar, like Jordanian students. This extra cost further adds to the financial problems of Palestinian students, who cannot afford to enroll in private universities. (Al-Monitor 2 Feb. 2016)

3.1 Palestinians from Gaza

According to the 2015 MEMO report, Gazan refugees are in a distinct situation in Jordan, notably in that they "face a number of legal impediments that deprive them of their basic rights" (MEMO Dec. 2015, 7). Similarly, a 2015 article published by Peace Direct, an NGO dedicated to "supporting local people to stop war and build[ing] lasting peace in some of the world's most fragile countries" (Peace Direct n.d.), notes that Gazan refugees are not afforded the same legal status as other Palestinian refugees and are "not considered citizens[,] leaving them in a very precarious position" (Peace Direct 10 July 2015). According to US Country Reports 2016, "approximately 158,000 Palestinian refugees originally from Gaza, who were not eligible for Jordanian citizenship" were "unable to work legally or access public services" (US 3 Mar. 2017, 22). According to the same source,

[r]efugees who fled Gaza after 1967 were not entitled to citizenship, and authorities issued them temporary travel documents without national numbers. These persons had no access to government services and were almost completely dependent on UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] services. (US 3 Mar. 2017, 40)

According to the 2015 MEMO report, Gazan refugees

have temporary two-year passports, which do not give them any citizenship rights to state education, own property, equality at work or health insurance. The people from Gaza are not allowed to work in government sectors while the private sector prefers not to employ anyone without Jordanian citizenship. (MEMO Dec. 2015, 8)

The article published by Peace Direct also states that Gazan refugees do not have national numbers and that their passport must be renewed every two years (Peace Direct 10 July 2015). According to the same source, it is "impossible" for them to work in the public sector and obtaining work in "the private sector is difficult for them as well because it is contingent upon Jordanian security approval" (Peace Direct 10 July 2015). The same source states that it is also "impossible to get a work license for certain professions," adding that one cannot work, for example, as a doctor, lawyer, or journalist (Peace Direct 10 July 2015).

4. Ability to Travel in and out of Jordan

According to the legal researcher at BADIL, the "ability to travel outside and return to Jordan is not affected for Palestinians from the West Bank [who lost their Jordanian citizenship], as they can still get temporary Jordanian passports," although they "are not allowed to permanently reside in Jordan" (BADIL 26 Jan. 2018). The Middle East Researcher indicated that "West Bank residents who are former Jordanian citizens or descendants of former Jordanian citizens … in most cases can acquire a temporary Jordanian passport for travel purposes" (Middle East Researcher 30 Jan. 2018). According to the same source, "for certain Palestinians who have lost their West Bank residency and are not permitted to return and are 'stuck' in Jordan, the temporary passport serves as an unofficial or de-facto 'residency document'" (Middle East Researcher 30 Jan. 2018). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4.1 Palestinians from Gaza

According to Al-Monitor, although the Oslo Accord, through which the PA was created, "stipulates that the West Bank and Gaza are one administrative unit and that free access is to be allowed between Gaza and the West Bank[,] as well as between the Palestinian areas and the rest of the world," Jordan "has adopted a different set of policies for Gazans" (Al-Monitor 4 Sept. 2016). According to the legal researcher, for "Palestinians who are not originally from the West Bank, losing Jordanian citizenship significantly affects their ability to move in and out" of Jordan, although it "depends on the specific circumstances of the person affected. Some of them can get temporary passports if they are living in Jordan, like many families in Jerash … refugee camp, but if they don't reside in Jordan they cannot obtain a temporary passport" (BADIL 26 Jan. 2018). According to the Middle East Researcher at Human Rights Watch, Palestinians of Gazan origin

generally cannot enter Jordan unless they obtain a special document called a "no objection" document from the Jordanian [Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates]'s Department of Palestinian Affairs, and they would generally not be permitted to remain legally in Jordan because they would not be eligible for a temporary Jordanian passport. There is an exception: there are 120,000-150,000 "Ex-Gazans" who entered Jordan as refugees in 1967 who are permitted to remain and hold special "Gazan" ID cards and "Gazan" temporary passports. (Middle East Researcher 30 Jan. 2018)

A 2016 article by Human Rights Watch cites Human Rights Watch Middle East Director as stating that "'Palestinians from Gaza have found it increasingly difficult to get permission to transit through Jordan to travel abroad, without any explanation for the change'" (Human Rights Watch 16 May 2016). The same source states that, until recently,

[s]ubject to a security screening, Jordan's Interior Ministry routinely issued "no-objection" letters that permitted Palestinians from Gaza to transit from the West Bank to foreign countries via Jordan. However, since August 2015, individuals, lawyers, and human rights organizations have found that such request[s] have largely been refused by Jordan or received no response. (Human Rights Watch 16 May 2016)

The September 2016 Al-Monitor article cites a "Gazan who lives in Ramallah" as stating that, "in the second half of August [2016] alone, 850 Palestinians of Gazan origin had applied to enter Jordan or to travel via Jordan. … 'Only 20 out of the 850 were allowed entry'" (Al-Monitor 4 Sept. 2016).

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 sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] BADIL is "an independent, human rights non-profit organization committed to protect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons" (BADIL n.d.a). It has offices in Bethlehem and Geneva (BADIL n.d.b).

[2] Al-Monitor is a multi-lingual news platform that aims "to foster a deeper understanding between the Middle East and the international community" (Al-Monitor n.d.).

[3] Political Sciences & Public Affairs is a peer-reviewed open-access journal (Political Sciences & Public Affairs n.d.).

References

Al-Monitor. 4 September 2016. Daoud Kuttab. "Why is Jordan Refusing Entry to Gaza Palestinians?" [Accessed 23 Jan. 2018]

Al-Monitor. 2 February 2016. Adnan Abu Amer. "Palestinians in Jordan Outraged over New Work Permit Requirements." [Accessed 23 Jan. 2018]

Al-Monitor. N.d. "Al-Monitor Mission Statement." [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018]

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights. 26 January 2018. Correspondence from a Legal Researcher to the Research Directorate.

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights. N.d.a. "About BADIL." [Accessed 2 Feb. 2017]

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights. N.d.b. "Contact Us." [Accessed 2 Feb. 2017]

Gabbay, Shaul M. 2014. "The Status of Palestinians in Jordan and the Anomaly of Holding a Jordanian Passport." Political Sciences & Public Affairs. Vol. 2, No. 1. [Accessed 23 Jan. 2018]

Global Research Institute. N.d. "Saul M. Gabbay PhD." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2018]

Haaretz. 16 May 2016. Jack Khoury. "Jordan Joins Israel in Clamping Down on Palestinian Transit Visas." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2018]

Human Rights Watch. 16 May 2016. "Jordan: Ease Travel for Gaza Palestinians." [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018]

Human Rights Watch. February 2010. Stateless Again: Palestinian-Origin Jordanians Deprived of Their Nationality. [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018]

The Jerusalem Post. 11 April 2012. Khaled Abu Toameh. "Jordan to Revoke Citizenship of PA, PLO Officials." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2018]

Middle East Monitor (MEMO). December 2015. Sawsan Ramahi. Palestinians and Jordanian Citizenship. [Accessed 23 Jan. 2018]

Middle East Researcher, Human Rights Watch. 30 January 2018. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Peace Direct. 10 July 2015. Dario Sabaghi. "Born & Bred Without Rights: Gaza Strip Refugees in Jordan." Peace Insight Blog. [Accessed 7 Feb. 2018]

Peace Direct. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 7 Feb. 2018]

Political Sciences & Public Affairs. N.d. "Journal of Political Sciences & Public Affairs." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2018]

United States (US). 3 March 2017. Department of State. "Jordan." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016. [Accessed 23 Jan. 2018]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development; Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information; law firm in Amman; Palestine – General Delegation in Ottawa; Refugee Studies Centre; UN – Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNHCR.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Gatestone Institute; Jordan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates; UN – Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNHCR; United Press International.