Israel Nulls Record Number of Al-Quds IDs

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel cancelled in 2006 a record number of residence permits for Palestinians of Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem), effectively denying them access to the holy city, an Israeli human rights group said on Sunday, June 24.

\"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identify those Palestinians who hold foreign passports so that their status as permanent residents of Jerusalem can be withdrawn,\" B\'Tselem spokesman Sarit Michaeli told Agence France Presse (AFP).

\"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.\"

Citing Interior Ministry\'s statistics, the group said Israeli authorities revoked in 2006 the residence permits of 1,363 Palestinians of Al-Quds, more than six times of 2005 figure which stood at 222.

The figure even exceeded the record number of 1,067 withdrawn permits in 1997.

Permanent residence gives the holder the right to live and work in the occupied holy city and vote in municipal, but not parliamentary elections.

Unlike citizenship, it is only passed on to the holder\'s children if the holder meets certain conditions.

In 1995 Israel enacted a law stipulating that native Palestinians of Al-Quds lose their residency permits automatically if they lived outside the city for seven years or if they held the passport of another country.

Those who lose their residence permits are compelled to leave their homes in the holy city forever.

They also cannot work or visit family members in Al-Quds.

Israel captured Al-Quds, home to Islam\'s third holiest shrine, in the 1967 six-day war and later annex the holy city, in a move not recognized by the international community.

Foreigners

The Israeli human rights group lashed out at Israeli authorities for treating the Palestinians of Al-Quds as foreigners.

\"Treating these Palestinians as foreigners who entered Israel is astonishing since it was Israel that entered east Jerusalem in 1967,\" said the group.

Palestinians who live in Al-Quds and marry persons who are not Israeli residents or citizens must apply for family unification.

Spouses receive temporary permits to stay in Al-Quds until the request is considered by the Interior Ministry, which is entitled to accept or turn down the request.

\"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 in a previous report said the Israeli government is adopting a policy of systematic and deliberate discrimination against the Palestinian population in Al-Quds in all matters relating to land expropriation, planning, and building.

It pointed out that the Israeli planning authorities utilized town planning schemes to restrict development of Palestinian neighborhoods in the Al-Quds.

Israeli authorities do not issue building permissions for Palestinians who are also banned from renovating their house unless with an Israeli permit, which they rarely get.

Israel announced in May allocating 5.75 billion shekels (1.45 billion dollars) for a series of plans to solve the social and economic problems of Jewish settlers to encourage them to move and stay in Al-Quds.

Since the annexation of the holy city, Israel has been seeking to reduce the number of its Palestinian residents and increase the number of Jews to create new political and demographic realities.

In a confidential report leaked to the media, the International Committee of the Red Cross recently accused Israel of violating its obligations under international law as an occupying authority in Al-Quds, serving the interests of Jewish settlers at the expense of the city\'s Palestinian population.