PROTECTING PALESTINIAN CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS IN EAST JERUSALEM
International humanitarian and human rights law are thus both applicable when analysing Israel’s policies enforced within the city. In particular, Article 49(1) of the Fourth Geneva Convention states:
has permanent residency status, he/she will not immediately be granted an identification number at his/her hospital of birth. Rather, parents must go to the Ministry of Interior to submit a formal request for their child’s registration. As with any procedural visit to the MOI, this process accordingly obligates applicants to satisfy the Centre of Life policy requirements and still leaves final approval of the request to the sole judgment of the Ministry. Moreover, standard procedures do not exist explicitly within the Ministry’s mandate regarding Jerusalemite children born abroad – including in the West Bank or Gaza Strip – and, as such, often result in denial of registration.62 Hence, many families find themselves having “mixed” identities, with some members holding Palestinian IDs, others Jerusalem IDs, and others without any official documentation.
Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive. In this regard, “forcible transfer” pertains not only to the revocation of residency rights but also to Israel’s deliberate interference with the quality of life in Jerusalem,65 often rendering much of the city’s Palestinian community with little choice but to leave. Article 49 similarly maintains that, “the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies,” highlighting the clear illegality of Israeli’s continuous imposition of Jewish settlements into East Jerusalem. Furthermore, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) collectively prohibit the arbitrary deprivation of both citizenship as well as the right to enter one’s own country66 (the latter of which was ratified by Israel in 1991). Each of these agreements is actively violated by the occupying state’s aforementioned residency procedures, which are decidedly applied strictly on the basis of a person being born Palestinian.
Based on a 2005 amendment within the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law, children with just one Jerusalem ID-holding parent have until the age of 14 to apply for registration. If a child is not registered prior to his/her 14th birthday, he/she may only receive a military permit valid for 1-year and subject to renewal; military permits grant access to Jerusalem but deny access to essential social benefits and may be revoked at the absolute discretion of the MOI.
Concerning its official position on the status of Jerusalem, the United Kingdom reiterates that of UN,67 maintaining, Since the war of 1967, HMG has regarded Israel as being in military occupation of East Jerusalem, and in this connection subject to the rules of law applicable to such an occupation, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. HMG also holds that the provisions of Security Council Resolution 242 on the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the 1967 war applies to East Jerusalem. The Venice Declaration and subsequent statements (both by the UK alone and with EU partners) have made clear that no unilateral attempts to change the status of Jerusalem are valid.
There are currently at least 10,000 unregistered Palestinian children living in occupied Jerusalem as a direct consequence of Israel’s discriminatory residency and family unification policies.63 These children are accordingly denied access to basic health, education, and insurance services and are often subjected to harassment at military checkpoints. The effects of the measures inevitably reach much farther than this estimate, as many families are compelled to live apart from one another, with children holding Palestinian IDs residing in the West Bank while their blue ID-holding kin remain in Jerusalem.
Aliyah, Residency Rights for Jews in Israel68 This chapter outlines the difficulties faced by Palestinian Jerusalemites who have centuries of history in the city. The level of discrimination is apparent when one considers the principle of ‘Aliyah’ which allows all Jews from across the world regardless of ethnicity and nationality, the right to reside in Jerusalem while Palestinians are denied their pre-existing right.
Illegality of Israel’s Residency Policies in Occupied Jerusalem The International Court of Justice’s 2004 Advisory Opinion on the Wall confirmed the United Nations’ position that East Jerusalem is considered to be an occupied territory and Israel its occupying power.64 24