Mohammed Mar’i

Saudi Gazette



RAMALLAH —  A Palestinian research center on Saturday said that Israeli collects some $11 million annually from issuing magnetic cards to Palestinians.



The Applied Research Institute (ARIJ) said in a report that the magnetic cards are issued or renewed for some 100,000 Palestinian laborers and civilians through the Israeli District Civil Liaison (DCL).



ARIJ said that the Palestinian must pay 130 Israeli shekel (roughly $40), which includes a fee of 100 shekel – made through the purchase of Israeli “stamps” that are attached to the application – and a 30 shekel fee to an office that types the application form for applicants. Work permits are given to workers, and there are also permits for personal needs, including medical treatment and professional updates.



In May 1989 Israel decided to require workers from the Gaza Strip entering Israel to have a magnetic card containing coded information about their security background. This directive was later imposed also in the West Bank, and became a condition for obtaining a work permit. The magnetic card, which was to be renewed annually, was an almost indispensable condition, although not sufficient in and of itself, for receiving permits, being an endorsement that the resident applying for the permit is not considered a “security risk.” The center said that in 5 West Bank districts – Ramallah, Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus and Hebron– Palestinian civilians must submit to a full scan of the right hand and separate scans of the right and left index finger in order to obtain the card through the DCL. Hand scans have also been required of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip in order to obtain a magnetic card.



According to ARIJ, an application for a magnetic card must be submitted on a stamped form. In order to do this, the resident must get to the Palestinian DCL and buy the stamps from the post office. If the application is refused, the soldiers in the Israeli DCL mark each of the stamps with the word ‘void,’ thus in effect making it impossible to submit this application at a later date. A further application will demand a further investment of time, trouble and money.



The center said that the entry of Palestinians into Israel for work is coordinated through the Israeli employment service. For any Palestinian seeking to work in Israel (who have been given a permit for one or two days), after finding a job they must first apply for a permit and once they are deemed suitable to enter Israel they are given a magnetic ID card.

 Without either of these forms of identification it is impossible to cross the checkpoints and work in Israel. In order to receive a work permit and magnetic ID card one must pass all of the regulations and checklists.  It added that a Palestinian seeking to work in Israel or the settlements must first find an employer who is willing to apply for a work permit on his behalf. To be eligible for a permit the applicants must be over 35, married with at least one child, possess no security record and have no familial connection with anyone who has a security record. Permits are issued for three months and can be withdrawn at short notice without explanation.



While the Palestinians are seeking to establish a state of their own, they remain economically dependent on Israel, which employs about 14 percent of the Palestinian labor force in the West Bank and provides the PA with water, electricity, waste treatment and other vital services.



US Secretary of State John Kerry, who believes in economic incentives as a prelude to restart the political talks, announced a plan to direct $4 billion of private investment into the Palestinian economy to help foster private business. 



Since March, Kerry held several meetings with Palestinian and Israeli leaders in bid to revive the direct peace talks between Palestinian Authority and Israel, thus far in vain.

 

The peace talks between Israel and the PA broke down in 2010 because Israel insisted to continue settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.



The Palestinians insist not to resume any direct or indirect peace talks with Israel before the latter clearly declares a complete cessation of settlement activities in the territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem that Palestinians want the capital of their future state. They also demand the release of 123 Palestinian prisoners who were arrested before the Oslo Accords in 1993.