Brussels — The International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD) expresses its profound concern regarding reports of the Palestinian government’s systematic refusal to renew or issue passports for Palestinian citizens currently displaced in Egypt.
Through documented testimonies, it has become evident that the right to freedom of movement is being weaponized as a tool for political screening and collective punishment. These measures target the most vulnerable—those fleeing genocide and seeking life-saving medical intervention—leaving them in a state of legal and physical limbo.
Documented Testimonies of Arbitrary Deprivation
The following accounts highlight a pattern of administrative abuse and the absence of due process:
The Testimony of Ahmad Abu Khodeir (57 years old):
“I was forced to leave Gaza in April 2024 to seek treatment after an injury to my foot sustained while on duty as an ambulance driver. In September of that year, I applied to the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo to renew my passport, but I was surprised that the request was rejected and my passport was subsequently confiscated. I demanded to meet any official at the embassy to clarify the situation, and they took me to what is known as the Intelligence Office at the embassy—a room with an interrogator and a guard. My phone was searched before entering to ensure I wasn’t recording. I stayed there for about 45 minutes; the interrogator treated me very poorly, questioning me about my relatives, friends, their work, and my opinion on the war. He asked why I worked with the ‘Gaza government’ and took the place of someone from the ‘legitimate government.’ Finally, he told me: ‘You are terrorists who turned against us and are banned from having passports.'”
The Testimony of Mohammed Qandil (30 years old):
“I left the Gaza Strip with my wife during the war; she was injured and needs to complete her treatment and undergo surgeries outside of Egypt. In May 2024, I applied to the Palestinian Embassy to renew my passport so I could leave Egypt and continue my wife’s treatment journey. After about two months, the embassy published the names of citizens whose passports had arrived. My name was on the list, but I was shocked to find a note saying ‘Withdrawn’ next to my name. Upon checking with the passport department at the embassy, I was told the passport was ‘withdrawn by the Security Committee’ without any explanation. To this day, the problem has not been resolved. My wife cannot travel without my accompaniment, and every day that passes without her travel doubles her suffering. Additionally, I am deprived of my right to movement—for example, I cannot register for the Hajj grant for the families of martyrs because I do not have a valid passport. Is it reasonable that our lives are disrupted without any legal justification or logical reason?”
The actions described above constitute a grave violation of international law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which the State of Palestine is a party, explicitly protects the right of every individual to leave any country, including their own (Article 12).
The use of “Security Committees” to vet civil servants and humanitarian cases without legal transparency or the right to appeal is a breach of the principles of administrative justice. By depriving citizens of valid identification, the government is effectively denying them the right to health, the right to work, and the right to seek safety.
IFRD calls upon the Palestinian Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to:
- Immediately release and renew all confiscated passports for Palestinians in Egypt without further security delays.
- Cease the use of political affiliation or prior civil employment in Gaza as a criterion for the provision of essential consular services.
- Abolish the “Security Committee” vetting process for passport issuance, as it lacks a constitutional basis and serves only to facilitate arbitrary discrimination.
IFRD remains committed to monitoring these violations and will continue to advocate at the international level to ensure that administrative procedures are never used as a weapon against those already suffering the horrors of war and displacement.
