Information on Palestinians - 1) Human rights violations by Israel; 2) issue of statelessness; 3) relations with Jordan (residency or legal status). [ISR2727]

1)

For information regarding the treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, please refer to the attached reports:
-

U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1989.
-

Amnesty International, Israel and the Occupied Territories, Oral Statement to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, AI Index: MDE 15/02/89, January 1989.
-

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, New York: Human Rights Watch, 1989.
-

Amnesty International, Israel and the Occupied Territories, Administrative Detention During the Palestinian Intifada: Summary, AI Index: MDE 15/06/89, June 1989.
-

Amnesty International, Amnesty International Calls for Judicial Inquiry into "Wide-Ranging" Rights Abuses by Israeli Forces, AI Index: MDE 15/05/89, 18 April 1989.
2 & 3)

Information on the rights and protection afforded to Palestinians from the West Bank, by Jordan:

The majority of the Jordanian population is Palestinian. Up until King Hussein's declaration on 31 July 1988 stating that Jordan would no longer attempt to administer the Israeli-occupied West Bank [ Keesing's Record of World Events 1988 (August 1988) p. 36120.] Palestinians in the West Bank were granted Jordanian citizenship and 5-year passports. [ Information received from Professor John Sigler of Carleton University, 18 April 1989.] In August 1988, a senior advisor to Hussein stated that "We do not consider West Bankers any longer Jordanians. We have to mark their passport in such a way that it will say so." [Youssef M Ibrahim: "Hussein is Frosty on New PLO Role" in The New York Times (8 August 1988).] Palestinians in the West Bank are now granted a temporary passport valid for two years but are not permitted residence anywhere in Jordan, even if they are married to a Jordanian citizen. [ Information received from the Palestine Information Office, 18 April 1989.]

Before the 31 July 1988 announcement, Jordan provided numerous public services to the West Bank, including schools, hospitals, road maintenance, mosques, and religious endowments. [ John Kifner: "Hussein's Slap at PLO" in The New York Times (2 August 1988).] Seemingly in preparation for the announcement, on 30 July 1988, Jordan dissolved its lower house of parliament, half the members of which were representatives from the West Bank. Prior to this it had cancelled a development plan for the West Bank. [ "Hussein dissolves parliament" in The Toronto Star (31 July 1988).]

The July announcement also led to the firing of employees and the dismantling of agencies dealing with the West Bank. On 4 August 1988, Jordan dismissed 21,000 West Bank employees, 6,000 of whom depended solely on Jordanian salaries for their income. [ Hugh Schofield: "Jordan fires, retires thousands in West Bank"in The Globe and Mail (5 August 1988).] On 6 August 1988, the Occupied Territories Ministry was dissolved. [ "Jordan Shuts Office in Charge of West Bank" in The New York Times (7 August 1988).] These moves were reported to have represented a cut of at least $30 million in Jordanian assistance to the West Bank. [ Kifner, "Hussein's Slap".] It was also reported that Jordan's total assistance to the area had been $50 million. [ "Where Jordan has left the West Bank" in the Globe and Mail (3 August 1988).]

Please see the attached response to a similar question regarding the status of Palestinians in the West Bank, and the Israeli treatment of West Bank residents. Statelessness is discussed briefly in this response. In addition, a communique from External Affairs Canada regarding the change in Palestinian passport policy by the Jordanian government is also attached.