Information on whether it is an offence under Jordanian law for a Palestinian holding a Jordanian residency permit to leave Jordan without reporting to the Interior Ministry when that person was previously ordered to do so and/or when the Ministry held that person's identity card [JOR14428]

According to a representative of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Jordan in Ottawa, Palestinians do not have to report to the Ministry of the Interior before leaving the country (14 June 1993). The representative added that the Embassy in Ottawa did not receive any instructions of a new policy on that matter (Ibid.).

A representative of Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights organization in Ramallah, West Bank, stated that it would be very difficult to leave the country without reporting to the Ministry of the Interior when a person was asked to do so (14 June 1993). The representative added that if a person was required to report to the Ministry of the Interior before leaving the country, the name of this person would be transmitted immediately to all exit points in Jordan (Ibid.). Once at an exit point, the person would be reminded that he/she could not leave the country without reporting to the Ministry of the Interior (Ibid.). Having reported to the Ministry, the person would normally be allowed to leave (Ibid.). In a case where the person was able to exit without reporting to the Ministry of the Interior and returned to Jordan, an investigation would be conducted to determine whether the person exited legally or illegally (Ibid.). If it is found that the person exited legally, i.e., with the proper official stamp, the person is unlikely to be penalized upon return (Ibid.). If the investigation shows that the person left illegally, she/he would be put on trial and charged (Ibid.). The representative was unable to determine what sentence would be given in such a case (Ibid.).

The representative of Al-Haq mentioned that Palestinian identity cards from the West Bank issued by the Israeli military administration have not been allowed in Jordan since 1978 (Ibid.). Since 1978, all Palestinians from the West Bank who cross the Jordan River to Jordan must leave their identity cards at one of the bridges between the West Bank and Jordan (Ibid.). There are currently few Palestinians in Jordan who still hold their Israeli identity cards unless they took up residency in Jordan before the application of the 1978 policy (Ibid.).

Additional and/or corroborating information on this subject is currently unavailable to the DIRB in Ottawa.

References

Al-Haq, Palestinian Human Rights Organization, Ramallah, West Bank. 14 June 1993. Telephone Interview with Representative.

Embassy of the Kingdom of Jordan, Ottawa. 14 June 1993. Telephone Interview with Representative.