ID :
183966
Tue, 05/24/2011 - 05:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/183966
The shortlink copeid
PALESTINIANS PROTEST OVER PASSPORTS
GAZA (Bernama) - Palestinians inside the barricaded Gaza Strip have taken part in a protest against the refusal of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to provide passports.
In spite of the reconciliation pact signed in Cairo earlier this month by the two rival factions, Hamas and Fatah, about 30,000 Palestinians in the narrow enclave will not be allowed to obtain passports issued by the PA in the West Bank.
Saleem Shorab, the organiser of the protest, condemned the PA's measures, calling them "unfair".
He asked the PA to provide a clear response to the applicants, who include the wounded, students and pilgrims, adding that explanations must be offered as to why their applications were rejected.
Palestinian Osamah Abu Asker, who lost his leg after being hit by an Israeli tank shell during an Israeli incursion in the Jabalya refugee camp in 2004, joined the call of protesters for passports.
He has been trying to obtain a passport since 2007 so that he might travel outside the blockaded strip. He plans to travel to get fitted with a prosthetic leg.
"The Palestinian reconciliation will be pointless if the Palestinian people have their rights stifled," he said.
Khaleel Abu Shamala, the director of the Al-Dameer Centre for Human Rights, said every citizen had the right to receive a passport in accordance with Palestinian and international laws.
He said members of his organisation had held several meetings with officials from the PA, noting that the agency promised to put an end to the passport problem when the reconciliation agreement was implemented.
Since 2007, when Hamas took over the coastal enclave from its rival Fatah, Palestinians were required to obtain passports from West Bank authorities under the control of the PA.
In spite of the reconciliation pact signed in Cairo earlier this month by the two rival factions, Hamas and Fatah, about 30,000 Palestinians in the narrow enclave will not be allowed to obtain passports issued by the PA in the West Bank.
Saleem Shorab, the organiser of the protest, condemned the PA's measures, calling them "unfair".
He asked the PA to provide a clear response to the applicants, who include the wounded, students and pilgrims, adding that explanations must be offered as to why their applications were rejected.
Palestinian Osamah Abu Asker, who lost his leg after being hit by an Israeli tank shell during an Israeli incursion in the Jabalya refugee camp in 2004, joined the call of protesters for passports.
He has been trying to obtain a passport since 2007 so that he might travel outside the blockaded strip. He plans to travel to get fitted with a prosthetic leg.
"The Palestinian reconciliation will be pointless if the Palestinian people have their rights stifled," he said.
Khaleel Abu Shamala, the director of the Al-Dameer Centre for Human Rights, said every citizen had the right to receive a passport in accordance with Palestinian and international laws.
He said members of his organisation had held several meetings with officials from the PA, noting that the agency promised to put an end to the passport problem when the reconciliation agreement was implemented.
Since 2007, when Hamas took over the coastal enclave from its rival Fatah, Palestinians were required to obtain passports from West Bank authorities under the control of the PA.
