Jerusalem – Many Palestinian children in East Jerusalem continue not to have an ID card or proof of permanent residency. Their condition was analyzed during a conference hosted on November 19 in Jerusalem, at the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem. The conference, entitled “Childhood interrupted: Child registration in Jerusalem”, was organized by the Saint-Yves Society, linked to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with the Konrad Adenauer Association.
Children of Palestinians in prison, and those who belong to families separated (for example, they have a parent residing in the West Bank), whose reunification finds obstacles in the Israel legislation are those who suffer most and do not have an ID card or permanent residency.
These children cannot attend school or enjoy social and health services, because they have no identity card or passport stating their nationality. In fact, for the law it is as if they do not exist.
His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, Patriarch Emeritus of Jerusalem of the Latins, in his speech at the conference pointed out that “the issue of child registration is one aspect of a larger problem, that of family reunification. The family is at the center of all this. Family means a father, mother and children, living under the same roof. But here, in this particular situation, the Israeli law laid down rules that do not allow the family to live under the same roof”.
As reported by the official website of the Latin Patriarchate, Raffoul Rofa and Haitham al-Katib examined the issue from a legal point of view. Raffoul Rofa explained that “in 1967, Israel gave the Palestinians living in East Jerusalem permanent residency, but not citizenship. This means that the Minister of the Interior could cancel this right of residency when he wants, and this already happens, for example, if a person resides outside of Jerusalem for a ceratin period of time”.
By: Agenzia Fides
