Court Ruling Means Young Jerusalem Arabs Face Easier Route to Israeli Citizenship

The Media Line — A previously unpublished regulatory clause, outlining relaxed requirements for young adult legal permanent residents applying to become Israeli citizens, has become public by order of the Jerusalem District Court.

Tuesday’s ruling forced Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority, which operates under the Interior Ministry, to publish the criterion – Clause 4A.

The approximately 20,000 Palestinians between the ages of 18 and 21 living in east Jerusalem now understand what is needed when petitioning for Israeli citizenship, which is not automatically granted to them as residents of the city.

Clause 4A requires five years of continuous residence in Israel; that the youth not be a citizen of any other country; and lastly, that they prove they have not committed any serious legal offense. These conditions were not previously publicly available to petitioners.

Since Israel took control of east Jerusalem in 1967, the rules to obtain citizenship for east Jerusalem Arab residents have been a political and judicial challenge.

Jordan occupied the territory from 1948 through 1967. The kingdom provided residents with Jordanian papers, including passports, until 1988, when it relinquished its claim to the area and severed all administrative and legal ties with the West Bank and Jerusalem.

For those born after 1988 and who therefore did not have Jordanian papers, the first test cases came in the early 2000s, when they began to reach the age of 18.

“I did not know anything about the mysterious 4A clause and the Interior Ministry would not tell me. I was born here and lived here all my life. They never said anything to me about the clause. They just kept pushing me off.”

Osama, who agreed to be quoted without using his full name, was one of the first, requesting Israeli citizenship in 2012, at the age of 19.

“I did not know anything about the mysterious 4A clause and the Interior Ministry would not tell me. I was born here and lived here all my life,” he told The Media Line. “They never said anything to me about the clause. They just kept pushing me off.”

Now 30 years old, his case is still pending before the court because it was petitioned under Clause 4A.

“It is my right, not a favor they may or may not grant me, to obtain Israeli citizenship.”

“All countries have standard citizenship requests like marrying a citizen or moving into a country. The US has its green card for temporary residents [actually, green card holders have permanent residency in the United States J.S.]. The laws are clear. In Israel, we have the Law of Return enabling any Jewish person to become a citizen. But Israel refuses to make it easy for east Jerusalem residents,” noted Osama, whose experience now includes work in Israeli courts as a translator from Arabic to Hebrew.

“It is my right, not a favor they may or may not grant me, to obtain Israeli citizenship,” he told The Media Line.

Adi Lustigman, a human rights lawyer, and colleague Hadar Shechter brought the case forcing the Population Authority to publish its guidelines.

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