Article74 Magazine

ID Card Confiscation Update 

In response to pressure from the United States, especially prior to the latest visit of US special envoy Dennis Ross in early May 1997, Prime Minister Netanyahu held a series of talks aimed at finding ways for easing up on ID card confiscation in Jerusalem. However, while the Netanyahu government may be in the defensive and thus ready for “good will gestures”, the Interior Ministry - much less concerned about Israel’s diplomatic fame - announced that it planned to continue confiscating ID cards of Arabs leaving the city as permitted by the Israeli law. 
Netanyahu: “We Will Stop ID Card Confiscations” 
In a first meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister of Interior Eli Suissa, Secretary of the Prime Minister Dani Nave, and State Legal Advisor Eliakim Rubinstein discussed in a special meeting the possibility of returning some of the confiscated ID cards in the framework of Israeli gestures. (al-Quds, 3-5-1997) 
The next day, David Bar Ilan, spokesman of the office of the Prime Minister announced that Netanyahu had decided to stop ID card confiscations from Jerusalemites who work or live outside the municipal boundaries. He said that these residents “are not exactly immigrants” since they are people born here. Therefore, the law should be changed so that their Israeli ID cards will no longer be routinely confiscated if they move out of Jerusalem. (Ha-Aretz 4-5; al-Quds 5-5) 
Minister of Interior: “We Will Continue Against Netanyahu’s Wish” 
In response, Interior Minister Eli Suissa declared in an official press announcement that “permanent residents of Israel will continue to lose their resident status - and consequently their ID card - if they meet one of the following conditions: 

1. if the person stays outside of Israel for consecutive seven years; “Arabic Jerusalem” is part of Israel and subject to Israeli law. Accordingly, persons who transfer the center of their lives outside the city boundaries are subject to this law. 

2. if the person obtains permanent residency in another country; 

3. if the person obtains citizenship of another country.” (al-Quds quoting from Ha-Aretz, 6-5-1997). 

In a statement preceding the above by one day, the Interior Ministry explained that it was not planning to cancel the resident status of all the 60,000 Jerusalemites living outside the city boundaries. The issue was rather that - in the period of January - May 1997, the Ministry found that in 358 cases of Palestinian Jerusalemites the permanent residency had expired. In addition, the Ministry had a list of 1017 cases which - based on a first evaluation - were expected to be in a similar situation. However, the latter were offered an opportunity to show their documents and each case was studied individually. As a result, 186 of these cases were found to be still living in Jerusalem [and their ID cards were returned; ART74] and 402 cases are still being studied [and 429 were confiscated; ART74]. (al-Quds, 5-5-1997) 
Based on the above, ID card confiscation are expected to continue, despite US pressure, and despite the fact that in 186 cases, the Ministry was forced to return ID cards confiscated by mistake (e.g. case of Faten Abu Khdeir in ARTICLE 74/19). However, if the pressure is kept on Netanyahu, Netanyahu may keep up pressure on Suissa to constrain ID card confiscations. This could be significant now, at the beginning of the summer season, the time when Jerusalemites living abroad come to visit their relatives in the city. 

Defending Palestinian Presence in Jerusalem: A Piecemeal Success 

The Case of Marwa Aref Arafat Tamini: 
Marwa is a 14 year old Jerusalemite. Since the death of her mother in 1988, she has been living in Dar-al-Tifl Boarding School in Jerusalem, and her uncle has acted as her guardian. In spring 1997, Marwa received an invitation to visit Germany in the framework of a youth program. Marwa, accompanied by her uncle, approached the Interior Ministry for a travel document (“laissez passer”). To their surprise, they were informed that the Ministry would not issue her a travel document, because - since her mother died - her Jerusalem registration and ID number were not longer valid. Marwa was told to ask for registration on her father’s West Bank ID card. 
On 13 May 1997, Marwa asked the AIC’s legal aid program for assistance. Following initial refusals, the director of the Interior Ministry office promised Atty. Lea Tsemel to study the case seriously, if Marwa could document that her mother had died. Marwa was finally issued a Jerusalem travel document, however, the Ministry emphasized that there was no direct connection between this travel document and her future eligibility for a Jerusalem ID card (the case of her ID card continues to be handled by Atty. Lea Tsemel/AIC Residency & Refugee Rights Project).