Palestinian Authority Passport / Travel Document
The Palestinian Authority Passport / Travel Document [ جواز سفر (Jawaz Safar) ] is a travel document issued since April 1995 by the Palestinian National Authority to Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories for the purpose of international travel. It was issued under the name of the Palestinian Authority and not the State of Palestine.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) started issuing passports to the public in the self-ruling areas of Gaza and Jericho on Sunday, 2 April 1995, two years after the Oslo Accords of 1993, the Palestinian Authority started issuing Palestinian Authority passports to the public in the self-ruling areas of Gaza Strip and West Bank. These passports retained the personal ID number of the Israeli Civil Administration.
VERSION 1 - GREEN COVER
According to the Jordan Times, Arab League Secretary General 'Ismat' Abd-al-Majid received the first copy of the Palestinian passport on 29 March 1995 from Muhammad al-Subayh, executive secretary of the Palestinian National Council. Noting that Hajj pilgrims would be the first to benefit from the new passports when crossing the Jordanian territories on their way to Saudi Arabia, sources at the Ministry of Interior, said the Palestinian Authority would begin issuing passports on Friday, 31 March 1995, to Palestinian residents of the two self-rule areas, Gaza and Jericho (Jordan Times, 30-31 Mar. 1995).
The passports were green with document holder's photo on a red background and the duration of validity of 3 years. They were printed by the national printing press in France.
VERSION 2 - BLACK COVER
A 14 March 2009 article on the non-governmental Palestinian Ma'an News Agency website indicates that the head of the passports department in the West Bank stated on 14 March 2009 that new Palestinian passports were to be available in one week. He stated that they were to have black covers, be valid for a period of five years instead of three years, cost 210 shekels or 50 United States (US) dollars and contain an electronic code to assist in the identification of the possessor and in the reduction of fraud (Ma'an News Agency 14 Mar. 2009).
On 12 August 2008 it was announced that the Palestinian Authority will start issuing new passports with black color cover and the duration of the validity of 5 years instead of 3, this change came in response to a request by the Ministry of Interior of the Palestinian government in the light of observations and demands of the Palestinian people and complained of the short time and the difficulties and cost resulting from the renewal especially for citizens living abroad and citizens with frequent travel.
Effective 1 April 2009 the Palestinian National Authority began issuing new Palestinian passports. Old passports remained valid but will be replaced as they expire. The new passports differ from the old passports in two significant features: the cover of the new ordinary passport will now be black instead of green. The pages of the passports will be pink. The background of the photos in the new passports will be blue instead of red. All passports will be valid for 5 years.
The new black-cover passport was officially issued on 29 March 2009 and were printed in Germany.
PALESTINIAN NATIONAL AUTHORITY
Palestinian National Authority ( PA or PNA; Arabic: السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية as-Sulṭa al-Waṭanīya al-Filasṭīnīya ) is the interim self-government body established in 1994 following the Gaza–Jericho Agreement to govern the Gaza Strip and Areas A and B of the West Bank, as a consequence of the 1993 Oslo Accords. Following elections in 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, its authority had extended only in areas A and B of the West Bank. Since January 2013, the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority uses the name State of Palestine on official documents.
On 5 January 2013, following the 2012 UNGA Resolution (United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 is a resolution upgrading Palestine to non-member observer state status in the United Nations. It was adopted by the sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly on 29 November 2012), Palestinian President Abbas ordered all Palestinian embassies to change any official reference to the Palestinian Authority into State of Palestine.
ISO 3166-1
Following the recognition of Palestine as a non-member UN state in 2012, the official designation used in ISO 3166-1 was changed from Occupied Palestinian Territory to State of Palestine.
PERMITTED COUNTRIES
PA passport "is essentially a travel document and does not stipulate that the owner is a citizen of Palestine". It was also reported that some holders of PA passports are not permitted by Israel to enter occupied Palestine.
The United States does not recognize Palestine as a country, and therefore the Palestinian Authority Passport/Travel Document does not confer citizenship but recognizes Palestinian Authority passports as travel documents
In May 2002 Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates indicated that the Palestinian passport will be recognized in their countries provided that there is a valid entry visas and other papers necessary to allow passport holders to travel into their countries.
In October 2007, the Japanese Ministry of Justice announced that Japan would recognize Palestinian nationality and accepting the travel documents.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem most often have to travel through Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan, because Israeli Authorities very rarely grant the documents needed to use Ben Gurion airport. Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem must travel via the Allenby Bridge, which crosses the Jordan River and connects the West Bank to Jordan. The Allenby Bridge crossings' is currently entirely controlled by Israel on the West side of the river, although previous agreements with the Palestinian Authority were supposed to give it joint control with eventual takeover of the PA of the border crossing.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS
The issuance of Passport/Travel Document is governed by "Agreement on the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area" Cairo, May 4, 1994, Annex II and the Appendix C details the technical requirements, including format, text and size of pages etc.
DIPLOMATIC REQUEST PAGE
The diplomatic note was printed in Arabic and English.
Note: In the English part, there is a wrong spelling which was spelt PERSUANT and the correct one would be PURSUANT.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) started issuing passports to the public in the self-ruling areas of Gaza and Jericho on Sunday, 2 April 1995, two years after the Oslo Accords of 1993, the Palestinian Authority started issuing Palestinian Authority passports to the public in the self-ruling areas of Gaza Strip and West Bank. These passports retained the personal ID number of the Israeli Civil Administration.
VERSION 1 - GREEN COVER
According to the Jordan Times, Arab League Secretary General 'Ismat' Abd-al-Majid received the first copy of the Palestinian passport on 29 March 1995 from Muhammad al-Subayh, executive secretary of the Palestinian National Council. Noting that Hajj pilgrims would be the first to benefit from the new passports when crossing the Jordanian territories on their way to Saudi Arabia, sources at the Ministry of Interior, said the Palestinian Authority would begin issuing passports on Friday, 31 March 1995, to Palestinian residents of the two self-rule areas, Gaza and Jericho (Jordan Times, 30-31 Mar. 1995).
The passports were green with document holder's photo on a red background and the duration of validity of 3 years. They were printed by the national printing press in France.
VERSION 2 - BLACK COVER
A 14 March 2009 article on the non-governmental Palestinian Ma'an News Agency website indicates that the head of the passports department in the West Bank stated on 14 March 2009 that new Palestinian passports were to be available in one week. He stated that they were to have black covers, be valid for a period of five years instead of three years, cost 210 shekels or 50 United States (US) dollars and contain an electronic code to assist in the identification of the possessor and in the reduction of fraud (Ma'an News Agency 14 Mar. 2009).
On 12 August 2008 it was announced that the Palestinian Authority will start issuing new passports with black color cover and the duration of the validity of 5 years instead of 3, this change came in response to a request by the Ministry of Interior of the Palestinian government in the light of observations and demands of the Palestinian people and complained of the short time and the difficulties and cost resulting from the renewal especially for citizens living abroad and citizens with frequent travel.
Effective 1 April 2009 the Palestinian National Authority began issuing new Palestinian passports. Old passports remained valid but will be replaced as they expire. The new passports differ from the old passports in two significant features: the cover of the new ordinary passport will now be black instead of green. The pages of the passports will be pink. The background of the photos in the new passports will be blue instead of red. All passports will be valid for 5 years.
The new black-cover passport was officially issued on 29 March 2009 and were printed in Germany.
PALESTINIAN NATIONAL AUTHORITY
Palestinian National Authority ( PA or PNA; Arabic: السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية as-Sulṭa al-Waṭanīya al-Filasṭīnīya ) is the interim self-government body established in 1994 following the Gaza–Jericho Agreement to govern the Gaza Strip and Areas A and B of the West Bank, as a consequence of the 1993 Oslo Accords. Following elections in 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, its authority had extended only in areas A and B of the West Bank. Since January 2013, the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority uses the name State of Palestine on official documents.
On 5 January 2013, following the 2012 UNGA Resolution (United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 is a resolution upgrading Palestine to non-member observer state status in the United Nations. It was adopted by the sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly on 29 November 2012), Palestinian President Abbas ordered all Palestinian embassies to change any official reference to the Palestinian Authority into State of Palestine.
ISO 3166-1
Following the recognition of Palestine as a non-member UN state in 2012, the official designation used in ISO 3166-1 was changed from Occupied Palestinian Territory to State of Palestine.
| English Short Name | Alpha-2 Code | Alpha-3 Code | Numeric Code | ISO 3166-2 Subdivision Codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palestine, State of | PS | PSE | 275 | ISO 3166-2:PS |
PERMITTED COUNTRIES
PA passport "is essentially a travel document and does not stipulate that the owner is a citizen of Palestine". It was also reported that some holders of PA passports are not permitted by Israel to enter occupied Palestine.
The United States does not recognize Palestine as a country, and therefore the Palestinian Authority Passport/Travel Document does not confer citizenship but recognizes Palestinian Authority passports as travel documents
In May 2002 Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates indicated that the Palestinian passport will be recognized in their countries provided that there is a valid entry visas and other papers necessary to allow passport holders to travel into their countries.
In October 2007, the Japanese Ministry of Justice announced that Japan would recognize Palestinian nationality and accepting the travel documents.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem most often have to travel through Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan, because Israeli Authorities very rarely grant the documents needed to use Ben Gurion airport. Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem must travel via the Allenby Bridge, which crosses the Jordan River and connects the West Bank to Jordan. The Allenby Bridge crossings' is currently entirely controlled by Israel on the West side of the river, although previous agreements with the Palestinian Authority were supposed to give it joint control with eventual takeover of the PA of the border crossing.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS
The issuance of Passport/Travel Document is governed by "Agreement on the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area" Cairo, May 4, 1994, Annex II and the Appendix C details the technical requirements, including format, text and size of pages etc.
| 27. POPULATION REGISTRY AND DOCUMENTATION 6. Exit abroad through the passages or through Israeli points of exit by residents of the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area shall only be possible by means of an agreed passport/travel document. This title shall be written on the cover in letters of equal size.
13. The format of the aforementioned identity card and passport/travel document as well as arrangements of the implementation of the provisions set forth in this Article are detailed in Appendix C attached to this Annex. GAZA-JERICHO AGREEMENT APPENDIX C Technical Schedule Regarding Population Registry and Documentation Note: The following is only part of this Appendix. Other sections of this Appendix shall be added in the future. Passport/travel document format General specifications
Internal page of external cover
Page number 1
Number of the Passport/Travel Document.
Page number 2 - the sticker
Page number 3
Visa pages
No comments.
Last page (32 or other)
The text of paragraph 1 will be:
"This passport/travel document, as long as it is valid, will enable its bearer on return from abroad, to enter the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area." Note: The aforementioned is meant to enable passage through Israeli border control without the need of an entrance visa. |
DIPLOMATIC REQUEST PAGE
The diplomatic note was printed in Arabic and English.
|
السلطة الفلسطينية
THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
هذا الجواز صادر بناء على اتفاقية الحكومة الذاتية الفلسطينية وفقاً لاتفاقية أوسلو الموقعة في واشنطن في ١٣ سبتمبر ١٩٩٣. يرجى من ذوي الشأن السماح لحامل هذا الجواز المرور بدون أي تأخير أو إعاقة وعند الضرورة حمايته وتقديم المساعدة له. THIS PASSPORT/TRAVEL DOCUMENT IS ISSUED PERSUANT TO THE PALESTINIAN SELF GOVERNMENT AGREEMENT ACCORDING TO OSLO AGREEMENT SIGNED IN WASHINGTON ON 13/9/1993. IT IS REQUESTED FROM THOSE WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN TO ALLOW THE BEARER OF THIS PASSPORT/TRAVEL DOCUMENT TO PASS FREELY WITHOUT LET OR HINDRANCE AND TO AFFORD HIM (HER) SUCH ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION AS MAY BE NECESSARY. MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR OR DIRECTOR GENERAL OF CIVIL REGISTRATION AND PASSPORT DEPARTMENT وزير الداخلية
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Note: In the English part, there is a wrong spelling which was spelt PERSUANT and the correct one would be PURSUANT.