Thousands of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip have been deprived of identity documents and consequently, several basic rights, most notably the right to freedom of movement, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said in a new report released today.
According to the report, titled “The Gaza Strip: Undocumented Citizens”, those without identity cards in Gaza entered the Strip either before 2000 with Israeli-issued temporary visitor permits, or after 2000 during the periods when the border wall between Egypt and Gaza was breached or through the underground tunnels that linked Egypt and Gaza before 2014.
Euro-Med Monitor: 5,000 Palestinians from Gaza are denied identity documents https://t.co/FvbBYJyysG
— Joe Catron 🇵🇸 #FreePalestinianStudents (@jncatron) March 28, 2021
The report reviews the difficulties faced by those without IDs as many of them lost their lives from chronic and serious diseases after being denied travel for treatment outside Palestine.
In terms of study and work abroad, undocumented persons cannot travel for education or work as they cannot obtain a passport. Likewise, they cannot meet their families if they live abroad which means denying many families from being united.
Gaza is the biggest open-air prison on earth. Nearly two million people are denied the basic freedom of movement. Ninety-seven percent of the water is undrinkable. The unemployment rate is 44 percent. https://t.co/RULJCCYhtK pic.twitter.com/PZN83scQ2h
— IMEU (@theIMEU) May 23, 2018
The report points out that this problem gets even worse when combined with the continuing official impotence towards solving this humanitarian issue, especially since it has been stagnant for many years.
Euro-Med Monitor’s spokeswoman in Palestine, Nada Nabil, said that “Israel, as an occupying power, is obligated to respect international law in all its dealings with the Palestinian population and end its policy of refusing to grant them identity cards, which affects the demographic composition in Gaza and robs its citizens their basic and untouchable rights.”
Time & time again Palestinians are denied access to lifesaving treatment. Many patients need to travel outside for specialist care unavailable in #Gaza. But barriers to freedom of movement prevent many patients from accessing urgent care. #LiftTheClosure https://t.co/HRvU394RLZ pic.twitter.com/8wsNXGYTXE
— Medical Aid for Palestinians (@MedicalAidPal) June 22, 2020
The report says that the Israeli occupation authorities should abolish arbitrary restrictions on Palestinian citizens’ right to reside in Gaza, end the freeze on family unification applications, and begin processing them in a way that enables citizens to obtain identity cards.
(WAFA, PC, Social Media)
