The New Line on the State of Palestine Passport
Daoud Kuttab discusses the implications of the State of Palestine passports.
One of the most important decisions following the UN vote on Palestine was made in the temporary Palestinian capital of Ramallah. Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on Jan. 6, 2013, calling for the issuance of new passports, driver’s licenses, stamps and other national identification documents all under the title of the State of Palestine. The 337-word decree based the decision on both the Palestinian Basic Law (temporary constitution) of 2003 and the UN resolution of Nov. 29, 2012.
The reaction mostly focused on the change in the title on passports from the Oslo-mandated “Palestinian Authority” to the term “State of Palestine.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a strong rejection of the decision, refusing any action that predetermines the outcome of talks and opposing the UN declaration of a Palestinian state.
