Palestinian identity card


The Palestinian identity card is a personal identification document issued by the Palestinian Authority government of Palestine to Palestinians registered in the Palestinian population registry. It is defined in Article of the Palestinian Civil Status Law of 1999 as a "legal document for identifying its holder," issued by the Civil Status Directorate of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior. Under Palestinian law, individuals registered in the population registry are required to obtain an identity card upon reaching the age of 16.
Unlike traditional citizenships, obtaining a Palestinian hawwiya depends on being registered in the Palestinian population registry rather than simply on descent. In practice, a person must be physically present in Palestine before passing the age of 16 and be added to a parent’s hawwiya before receiving their own. Because of these requirements, many Palestinians in the diaspora who were never registered—or were unable to visit Palestine—cannot obtain a hawwiya and therefore cannot receive a Palestinian passport.
Because of these limitations, many Palestinians who do have citizenship and live abroad travel to the West Bank specifically to register their children in the population registry.

History

Until the Oslo Accords, Palestinian identity cards were issued by the Israeli Military Government following the 1967 war, and later by the Israeli Civil Administration. The plastic cover of the ID carried the emblem of the Israeli army. Card colors differed by region:
After the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, responsibility for issuing ID cards to residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip was transferred to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, subject to Israeli approval. Under the agreements, Israel transferred authority over the population registry and address data to the Palestinian side.
In 1996, Israel reinstated the requirement of prior approval for changing a resident's registered address from Gaza to the West Bank. In 2000, Israel announced it would not recognize any registry changes made without its approval. Israel also determines the ID numbers used by the Palestinian population registry. Palestinians holding Gaza IDs but residing in the West Bank are considered by Israel to be “illegally present.”
In the early 2000s, the Palestinian Authority unified the color of the ID card cover to green for both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Legislation

The 1999 Civil Status Law sets the legal basis for the Palestinian ID card. Key provisions include:
  • Every Palestinian aged sixteen or above must obtain an identity card.
  • The Civil Status Directorate of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior is the sole authority permitted to issue identity cards.
  • Anyone who obtains Palestinian nationality must apply for an ID card within 90 days, and anyone who loses nationality must surrender their ID within the same period.
  • No person may hold more than one identity card. Anyone who fails to obtain an ID after turning sixteen is subject to a fine of no less than fifteen Jordanian dinars or its equivalent in local currency.
Under Law No. 3 of 2008, which amended the 1999 Civil Status Law, two additional provisions regarding identity cards were introduced:
  • A wife may not change her family name to that of her husband.
  • The husband’s full four-part name must be added to the ID annex.

    Contents

Palestinian identity cards are issued in a laminated booklet format, kept inside a plastic cover alongside a folded supplement sheet. The following information appears on the card, written in both Arabic and Hebrew
The supplementary ID annex, stored in the second pocket of the plastic cover, contains:
  • Family name
  • Given name
  • Address
  • Marital status
  • Name of spouse
  • Spouse’s ID number
  • Previous family name
  • Previous given name
  • Names and ID numbers of children under 16 and their birth dates
  • Sections for elections, change of address, and corrections