Journal of Political Sciences & Public Affairs
Open Access

Abstract

The Status of Palestinians in Jordan and the Anomaly of Holding a Jordanian Passport

Shaul M Gabbay

The shared history of Palestinians and Jordanians has been an amalgamation of triumphs and failures, peace and violence. Forces both internal and external, have contributed to keep the two groups in a paradoxical state somewhere between dependence and resentment. Currently, and since 1988 when Jordan disengaged from the West Bank, these tensions have resulted in the disenfranchisement of many of Jordan’s citizens who are of Palestinian origin. In this paper I explore both the harsh new realities that face those Palestinians who have been stripped of their Jordanian citizenship, as well as the tumultuous history between Palestinians and Jordanians that has led to the current state of affairs between them. On the practical level this paper attempts to explain the anomaly-a counterintuitive result whereby the holders of a National Passport without a national number on it have no rights compared to the holder of a mere Jordanian Identity Card, which includes a national number. As this paper will highlight, this seemingly minute distinction between the two documents allows for significant differences in the application of basic legal rights between the holders of these two documents and for the violation of certain basic legal rights for one of them.