Jordan rejects to give Gaza's refugees Jordanian nationality
Jordan-Palestine, Politics, 3/1/2004

Jordan stressed it will not take part in the implementation of the alternative homeland policy through settling the Palestinians who are in Jordan and who carry provisional passports by converting these passports to permanent ones.

Jordan's minister of the Interior, Samir Habashenah, said that 80% of the people of Gaza who are in Jordan carry provisional passports that do not give its bearer the right to get the nationality, noting that in 2003, the Jordanian government made some 20,000 passports to citizens from Gaza for humanitarian reasons in order to facilitate their movement.

However, the people of Gaza in Jordan confirm that their provisional passports which they carry are not enough, noting that to move is not their basic problem, rather work, ownership, health insurance and education are their main problem which are not solved yet by the government.

Habashenha said in an intervention before Palestine committee at the Jordanian parliament indicated that the issuance of passports of a two- year duration is different from those of five year duration whose bearer gets the nationality. He stressed that Jordan decided at that time not to withdraw the nationality from Jordanian women who are married to Palestinian men.

The Jordanian government also decided not to change the permanent passports into temporary ones. This is after withdrawing the nationality of 600 persons from the West Bank because of their work with the Palestinian authority or not getting the Palestinian nationality.

For his part, the chairman of the liberal democratic coalition bloc which includes 13 members, Mamdouh al-Abbadi, stressed that smoothing daily life issues and enabling the Palestinians to move freely is a welcomed matter but "under the condition not to give them the nationality so as Jordan will not contribute to (help) expelling the Palestinians from their lands."

But other parliamentarians, especially the bloc of the Islamic labor front stressed that offering the people of Gaza their full rights does not means settling them.

Worthy mentioning that Jordan hosts some 1.7 million Palestinian refugees distributed on 13 camps, representing one among each three of Palestinian refugees registered within UNRWA's list in the countries of the region.

Previous Stories:
  Jordan returns back 15 Palestinians to Jordan, refuses to receive refugees   (2/25/2004)
  Passports for Gaza's refugees in Jordan   (11/25/2003)
  Jordanian king receives Qrei and American delegation: The Palestinians have to abide by obligations   (10/24/2003)

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