RAMALLAH, West Bank, 25 June 2007 — The number of Arab Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem whose permanent residency status has been revoked has surged more than six times in one year, according to Israeli Interior Ministry data made available to the human rights group B’Tselem.
In 2005 the number of residencies revoked stood at 222, while by 2006 the number rose to 1,363. This is the highest number of revoked permanent residency permits since the Israeli policy was introduced in 1995.
Permanent status grants East Jerusalem residents most of the privileges enjoyed by Israeli citizens. Permanent residence gives the holder the right to live and work in the city and vote in municipal, but not parliamentary elections.
Palestinians in East Jerusalem have the status of permanent residents of Israel, the same status granted to foreigners who settle in the Jewish state. “Israel treats Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem as immigrants, who live in their homes at the beneficence of the authorities and not by right,” B’Tselem said. “Treating these Palestinians as foreigners who entered Israel is astonishing since it was Israel that entered East Jerusalem in 1967.”
The watchdog said that a common pretext cited by Israel for withdrawing residence permits was the holding of a foreign passport enabling the Palestinians to emigrate.
“It seems that the interior system has an information system allowing it to identify those Palestinians who hold foreign passports so that their status as permanent residents of Jerusalem can be withdrawn,” B’Tselem spokesman Sarit Michaeli said.
“The injustice in this policy stems from the fact that an Israeli can have several passports and spend his life abroad without anyone questioning his status as an Israeli national.”
