Article74 Magazine

Israeli-Jordanian Borders Remain Closed for the People of the Region 
Who are the Jordanians that will be issued Israeli tourist visas? “Every Jordanian citizen,” was the Israeli delegation’s answer to an inquiry by its Palestinian counterpart. This answer seemed too good to be true, because opening the borders for Jordanian citizens would require the abolition of the restrictive system of visit permits to Israel for Palestinian visitors in Israel and the occupied territories. In fact, an investigation into the “new regulations” revealed old news. The Israeli Interior Ministry was unwilling to provide information, the new Israeli embassy in Amman was more cooperative: Since the embassy in Amman does not (yet) have a visa department, Jordanian citizens cannot apply for Israeli visas by themselves. As in the past, one of their close relatives in Israel or in the 1967 occupied territories must apply at the Interior Ministry/Civil Administration for a visit permit on their behalf. Jordanian citizens who do not have close relatives in Israel/Palestine simply cannot come to visit. In the meantime, Palestinian residents of the occupied territories continue to be refused visit permits for close relatives even in emergency cases. Israeli fears of being flooded by thousands of Palestinian “tourist-refugees” seem to compel the authorities to maintain the old system of selection of Jordanians allowed entry. 
Jordanian visas for Israelis, on the other hand, are also limited. The official explanation is the limited number of Jordanian hotels able to host Israeli tourist groups. However, it appears that behind this official explanation stands the strong Jordanian public pressure for the boycott of relations with Israel. 

Israel Denies Dual Citizenship for Palestinian Residents of East Jerusalem 
Based on the current Israeli policy of encouraging Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem to take Israeli citizenship, the Palestinian community was stirred by an announcement of the Israeli Interior Ministry that “following the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement, Israel will treat residency matters concerning Jordanian citizens just like those concerning any other foreign citizen.” This statement was interpreted by both the Israeli and Palestinian press as another Israeli attempt to make Israeli citizenship more attractive to Palestinian Jerusalemites: from now on they will no longer have to renounce their Jordanian citizenship in exchange for an Israeli passport. The interpretation was based on the experience with thousands of Israelis, immigrants and native-born, who are allowed to hold two passports. Even the Mufti of Jerusalem felt compelled to threaten the Friday worshipers with heavenly and social retribution if they accept the new Israeli offer. 
However, the uproar was pre-mature. Selectivity has always been Israel’s guiding principle when it comes to granting citizenship to non-Jews, and this will remain in effect even in the “new era of peace”. The Interior Ministry hurried to clarify its earlier statement: “Citizenship for non-Jewish foreigners is regulated by the Law of Entry to Israel, and this law does not permit dual citizenship. Jewish persons, citizens of any country in the world, become Israeli citizens according to the Law of Return, which does permit dual citizenship” (Kol Ha’ir, 25/11/94). 

Will Confiscated Palestinian Property be Returned Following the Israeli-Jordanian Peace Agreement? 
The Law Concerning Absentee Property (1948/1967) provides that lands and property belonging to absent subjects of an enemy country be transferred to Custodian of Absentee Property who has the right to sell them to state or private parties as he sees fit. This law remains a major tool for the confiscation of Palestinian property inside the green line and in East Jerusalem. Many of the original Palestinian owners hold Jordanian citizenship, and since the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement abolishes their status as “subjects of an enemy state” they had hoped for the re-instatement of their property rights. According to the Israeli State Attorney this will not be the case, since amendments of the Law Concerning Absentee Property require new legislation. Moreover, Israel and Jordan would have to ratify a special agreement concerning bilateral compensation in which Israel would also raise its claims concerning Jewish property in Jordan (Inquiry by Land & Water on the State Attorney’s office).