Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist and former professor of journalism at Princeton University.
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| Israeli restrictions on movement strangle Palestinian life |
.... If one lives in East Jerusalem one cannot enter Jordan by land except
over the King Hussein Bridge, where one must pay the permit fee of 230
shekels (about $70) to Israeli authorities, in addition to the exit tax
of 180 shekels ($55).
Jordan, which does not consider the bridge
an international border, does not allow Palestinians to use the Sheikh
Hussein Bridge.
The Israelis give Palestinians in East Jerusalem a travel permit called
laissez-passer, but that travel document is not renewed if one cannot prove that the "center" of one's life is Jerusalem.
If one lives outside the city for an extended period of time, one loses one's right to it even if born in it.
Travel
in and out of Jerusalem is much more restrictive if one is a
Palestinian Jerusalemite, unlike Jewish settlers who have alternative
roads and much easier procedures at checkpoints.
I was told that
if one has a foreign passport with an Israeli stamp, one is allowed in
as long as the person is not of Palestinian origin.
So even if
one has a European or American passport, being born in Jerusalem
automatically bars one from obtaining a visa at the airport, while other
citizens from the same country can get a visa even if they have an
Israeli stamp on their passports.
The travel troubles facing
Palestinians, especially those of Gaza, are apparently a major
motivation for attempts to emigrate (legally or illegally) to Europe or
any other Western country whose passports are much more respected than
Palestinian or Arab passports.
Frustration about not being able
to travel freely and seek opportunities elsewhere is apparently a strong
motivator for joining radical groups.
When Palestinian officials
meet this week indirectly with the Israelis under Egyptian supervision,
the issue of the airport will be discussed.
While few hold hope
that the Israelis will allow the reopening of the Gaza International
Airport, there is ample evidence that the issue of freedom of movement
is not a demand by one single Palestinian faction, but a requirement for
a sane life by all Palestinians.
Darwish's desire to return to
his homeland produced verses. To Palestinians living in the occupied
homeland, the freedom of movement is a top priority.
The issue cannot be shoved under the carpet anymore.
The views expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect Ma'an News Agency's editorial policy.
