Many Palestinians, including some of our members, holding US citzenship and passports are being forced by Israel to acquire Palestinian passports with all the hassles and humiliation that being a Palestinian in the occupied territories entails. The American consulate has not helped at all merely saying it is Israeli law. An American passport has afforded some protection against Israeli excesses especially in being able to travel a little more freely in the West Bank and into Jerusalem.
To protest this policy, on April 16, Dr. Hala Maksoud, President of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), and Dr. James Zogby (AAI) visited Under Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Mr. Jacob Walles at the State Dept. They discussed the passport issue, the harassment of Arab Americans at Israeli ports of entry, and the Israeli use of detention and torture of Palestinian Americans. Mr. Walles agreed to follow up with Secretary Colin Powell who would raise the issue with the Israelis. As Hala Maksoud said "As Americans, we are extremely disturbed that the US allows the state of Israel to question US citizenship and decide who has the right to travel with US passports."
According to US officials, 45,000 US citizens of Palestinian origin are living or visiting in the West Bank. ADC will regularly provide the Department of State with incident reports of harassment and mistreatment at Israeli ports of entry and exit. The Bethlehem Association and ADC call upon individuals who have encountered or are familiar with such incidents to promptly report them in writing to ADC and when possible to also write to the State Department.
If we want to change the situation, we must not just complain to one another but in writing to the State Department, ADC, and our congress person.