Palestinian Authority passport
| Palestinian passport | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Issued by |
 Palestinian Authority
|
| Type of document | Passport |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility requirements | Residents of areas under the Palestinian Authority. |
The Palestinian Authority Passport/Travel Document Arabic: جواز سفر (Jawaz Safar) is a passport/travel document issued since April 1995 by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories for the purpose of international travel.
The Palestinian Authority passport is available to anyone on production of a birth certificate showing that they were born in Palestine. What constitutes "Palestine" for this purpose is not clear. In practice, only residents of areas under the Palestinian Authority jurisdiction can apply. Whether Palestinians born outside Palestine could apply for the passport is also not clear.
However, the passport issuance is subject to additional restrictions imposed by the Israeli government. Israel asserts that the requirement is permitted for security needs under the Interim Agreement.
Between 1924 and 1948, the term "Palestinian passport" referred to the travel documents that were available to residents of British Mandate Palestine. Issued by the High Commissioner for Palestine, they were officially titled, "British passport, Palestine". These passports became invalid with the termination of the British mandate on 15 May 1948. Israeli and Jordanian passports were offered to former British Mandate subjects according to the citizenship they acquired in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. A significant number of Palestinian Arabs, especially in the Gaza Strip and those who found refuge in Syria and Lebanon, remained stateless, as Egypt, Syria and Lebanon did not allow them to integrate as citizens.
The Egyptian-controlled All-Palestine Government issued All-Palestine passports between 1949 and 1959 to Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip and Egypt. However, passport holders were not permitted to move freely into Egypt. In the meantime, Transjordan annexed the West Bank and Palestinian residents of the West Bank became citizens of Jordan, and were entitled to a Jordanian passport.
...
Wikipedia