On October 22, 2024, the Mizan Human Rights Foundation in Nazareth formally approached the Ministry of Interior and the Population and Immigration Authority with a request to issue a certificate confirming that a deceased resident of Umm al-Fahm and their heirs never obtained Israeli citizenship or permanent residency status. This request comes in response to requirements set by the Jordanian authorities to complete procedures for granting the heirs Jordanian citizenship or permanent residency.
The Mizan Foundation clarified that the deceased left the country in the 1950s and settled in Jordan, where he built his life, got married, and had children. He passed away on March 20, 2005, in Jordan, without permanently returning to Israel or acquiring any legal status there.
The foundation attached official documents to its request, including an inheritance order issued by the Sharia Court in Jordan and a certificate from the Jordanian Civil Status Department, which confirms that the individuals listed in the inheritance order are the deceased’s children. Additionally, the foundation included a statement from one of the deceased’s relatives, indicating that the deceased left the country in 1953, returned briefly between 1999 and 2004, and did not obtain citizenship or permanent residency during that time.
The statement further noted that the deceased was registered with a compound name in Israeli documents but used a shorter version of his name in Jordan. This discrepancy prompted the Jordanian authorities to request official confirmation from the Israeli Ministry of Interior regarding his legal status and that of his heirs.
The Mizan Foundation emphasized the importance of a prompt response from the Ministry of Interior and the Population and Immigration Authority to provide the requested certificate, thereby facilitating the legal procedures required by the Jordanian authorities and safeguarding the rights of the heirs.
