Status of Palestinian born in West Bank in 1958 / acquisition of Cuban citizenship
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 July 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | JOR1562 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Status of Palestinian born in West Bank in 1958 / acquisition of Cuban citizenship, 1 July 1989, JOR1562, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abce38.html [accessed 17 September 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. |
According to information provided by External Affairs and the Palestinian Information Office in Ottawa, Palestinians, whether born in the Occupied Territories before or after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, have their status defined by their place of residence rather than their birthplace, unless they had acquired citizenship of some country before present.
On July 31, 1988, King Hussein of Jordan announced a
reduction of Jordanian participation in West Bank affairs. [Keesing's Record of World Events, (London, Longman Publishing Group), August 1988, p. 36120.] Until then, Palestinians were granted Jordanian citizenship and passports valid for five years. [ Professor John Sigler, Carleton University, 18 April 1989.] In spite of the new policy, Jordan agreed to keep open the bridges connecting Jordan and the West Bank, and continued issuing Jordanian passports to West Bank residents. 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, 2 August 1988.]
However, External Affairs indicated the Minister of Interior of Jordan declared in an interview in September 1988 that Palestinians holding Jordanian passports can enjoy the same rights as Jordanian citizens regarding movement, travel within and outside Jordan, trading and money use. Nevertheless, the same source indicated Jordanian laws regarding treatment of non-citizen Palestinians are not made public.
According to External Affairs, Jordan does not regularly issue one-year passports any more, except for specific purposes such as business missions, whether the holder is Palestinian or Jordanian. Currently, two-year and five-year passports are issued. A Palestinian holding a Jordanian passport is not necessarily considered a Jordanian citizen, but enjoys most of the same rights and privileges as Jordanian citizens without restriction, including entrance to and movement within Jordan. Residence restrictions may be imposed on cases reviewed individually by the Jordanian government. The same rights apply to Palestinians of both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
According to information received from the Palestine Information Office, 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. Palestinians born in the Occupied Territories are now given passports by Jordan only as a travel document. The source stated that holding a Jordanian passport does not make them Jordanian nationals or citizens and does not always guarantee entrance to Jordan, but is essentially a document that allows them to travel abroad from the Gaza Strip. The passports are issued on a temporary basis and are usually renewed, according to the source. The Palestinian Information Office stated that most Palestinians from the Occupied Territories are considered stateless, and are given travel documents by Israel, Jordan or other Arab countries.
According to the same source, all Palestinians residing in Jordan outside of refugee camps sponsored by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as well as their children, are considered Jordanian citizens. Within the refugee camps, only those who arrived before 1967, as well as their children, are considered Jordanian citizens, while those who arrived to the camps after 1967 and their children are not granted Jordanian citizenship.
Regarding Jordanian citizenship for Palestinians, the situation may vary, depending on whether the subject is of Palestinian ascent or a Palestinian refugee, and depending on his/her place of residence. According to External Affairs, the cases of children born to Palestinian refugees in Jordan are dealt with on an individual basis by the Jordanian authorities; however, children of a father who is a Jordanian citizen reportedly have full citizenship rights, whereas children with only a Jordanian-citizen mother are not automatically entitled to acquire Jordanian citizenship.
Citizens who have left Jordan reportedly have the right to return, and one source states that there are no reported cases of citizenship revocation for political causes. [ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Department of State, 1989), p. 1392.]
Please find attached a copy of a three-page document provided by External Affairs titled "Jordan and West Bank: Passports and other issues". According to External Affairs, the Jordanian policy stated therein is in effect.
Regarding Cuban citizenship, please find attached a copy of the pertinent sections of the Cuban Constitution, from Constitutions of the Countries of the World, (New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1979), pages 12-14. No other information on the subject could be obtained from the sources presently available to the IRBDC.