Palestinian Authority passports (jawaz safr) have been issued by the Palestinian Authority since April 1995 to Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip and West Bank for the purpose of international travel.
The Palestinian Authority passport is available to residents born in a zone within the authority of the Palestinian Authority, on production of a birth certificate attesting to that. Whether Palestinians born outside Palestine could apply for the passport was not clear to the Palestinian Authority Representative questioned by UNHCR representatives in May 2002. The PA representative also said even if those applying met the PA's eligibility criteria, the Israeli government placed additional restrictions on the actual issuance of passports.[1] Palestinians with passports from other countries are required by Israel to exit and enter the Palestinian territories either via Ben Gurion Airport or via land crossings, with a Palestinian passport. Israel asserts that the requirement results from the Interim Agreement.[2] The United States regards the PA as not controlling its borders. All persons entering PA-controlled areas must be granted permission by Israel.[3]
History
On 2 April 1995, two years after the Oslo Accords of 1993, the Palestinian Authority started issuing Palestinian Authority passports to the public in the self-ruling areas of Gaza and Jericho. These passports retained the personal ID number of the Israeli Civil Administration.[4]
Implications of the passport
Palestinians regard the passport as a 'crucial symbol of nationhood.'[5] The recognition of the passports by other countries has been cited as evidence of recognition by them of the State of Palestine and/or Palestinian nationality and citizenship. As of 1997, Palestinian authorities had not issued a passport in the name of the State of Palestine.[6] While the United States Government recognizes Palestinian Authority passports as travel documents, it does not view them as conferring citizenship, since they are not issued by a government.[1] Consular officials representing the Governments of Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, when asked by the Resource Information Center of UNHCR in May 2002, would not comment on whether their governments viewed PA passports as conferring any proof of citizenship or residency, but did say that the passports, along with valid visas or other necessary papers, would allow their holders to travel to their countries.[1]
In October 2007, a Japanese Justice Ministry official said, "Given that the Palestinian Authority has improved itself to almost a full-fledged state and issues its own passports, we have decided to accept the Palestinian nationality". The decision followed a recommendation by a ruling party panel on nationality that Palestinians should no longer be treated as stateless.[7]
Passport note
In the Passport note it says:
English
The holder of the passport is under protection of Palestinian Authority. All of those whom (it) may concern are hereby requested to allow the holder to pass freely without delay or hindrance, and to afford the holder with assistance and protection as may be necessary.
Countries which accept Palestinian Authority passports
^Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. 1998. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. United States Government Printing Office.
^See Japan to recognize Palestinian nationality, KUNA, 10/5/2007 [1]; Japan to recognise Palestinian nationality, The India Report, 6 October 2007 [2]; Yomiuri, Government to recognize Palestinian ‘nationality’, Saturday, October 6, 2007; and Japan News Review, Government to recognize Palestinian ‘nationality’, October 6, 2007, [3]
