Said abu Farha, Ramallah

15/7/2007

 

Yesterday representatives from several organizations discussed the danger of separating the West Bank and Gaza and the undesirable consequences it will have on everything, although the problem with Palestinian identification documents is enduring.

 

They emphasized that now is the best time to push for the solution of the ID problem with the Occupation Authorities.

 

This discussion took place during a conference entitled The Palestinian Situation and the ID Issue organized by the Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (WATC) at Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramallah. The conference featured Sana Aranki, WATC's legal consultant; Imad Shanan, general director of the Civil Affairs Office at the  Ministry of Interior; Tayseer Nasrallah, member of the National Council and director of the Refugee Rights Defense Committee and Dr. Sharif Kana’na, professor at Bir Zeit University.

 

Ms. Aranki noted that at present there is no Palestinian law on nationality, only Article 7 in the basic law which talks about the necessity of national identification. She pointed out that the draft of the Palestinian constitution includes several articles on the nationality issue, which indicates the importance of the issue. Ms. Aranki talked about the role of the Israeli occupation in separating Palestinians, displacing them and depriving them of full citizenship rights. She reviewed the series of measures and arbitrary policies that the occupation has implemented – and continues to implement – in order to cancel and revoke Palestinian identification documents.

Ms. Aranki also discussed special permits (lam shamal) and the problems related to obtaining them. She argued that the real goal of the occupation is to put pressure on Palestinians and force them to leave.

 

The speakers briefly mentioned the fact that there hasn’t been an accurate census in the Palestinian Territories for some time; in the last century only after the creation of the Authority. They also discussed the obstacles Israel creates to carrying out a census or updating the data, ignoring real needs of the Palestinian people.

 

In his presentation, Tayseer Nasrallah indicated that the PLO was formed to address the fundamental needs of Palestinians and contribute to the preservation and protection of the Palestinian identity in the face of Israel's policies. "The strength of the Palestinian identity is what has preserved the nation," he said, "and it is a true guarantee that the Palestinian people, who have strong ties to their land, will overcome the state of marginalization and exclusion that they have been living in for so long.”

Nasrallah said that there were several problems with Palestinian identification documents. Due to the changes that have occurred in the Palestinian political system, the country is facing a dangerous dilemma characterized by the threat of a divided Palestine, with the corresponding moral implications for nationality issues, the absence of  functional institutions to refer problems to, and the debate over key policies.  “If the current division between the West Bank and Gaza continues," he said, "it will have a catastrophic effect on the ID issue. (…) However, Palestinian identity, in the full sense of the word, cannot be achieved until a sovereign Palestinian state is established and all refugees return to their homes according to UN Resolution 194.”

 

Dr. Kana’ana’s presentation focused on citizenship rights and national identity. He spoke about folklore as a key element shaping identity.

 

Rose Shomali, general director of the Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (WATC), opened the evening by saying that the conference, the second of its kind, was organized by a project for young leaders which is run by WATC. Ms. Shomali explained that participants in the project collected stories of those suffering as a result of Israeli policies concerning nationality and residency. The young leaders are currently preparing information to publicize throughout Palestine and abroad. They plan to launch a national campaign to expose all of the violations committed by Israel and especially the role that the occupation is playing in breaking apart families and Palestinian society as a whole.