Israeli’s new UK passport lists birthplace as ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’
An Israeli woman with British citizenship said on Wednesday that her new UK passport lists her birthplace as the “Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
Ayelet Balaban, whose father is British, was born at the Hadassah Medical Center in occupied Jerusalem.
“I was shocked to see that my place of birth was changed from Jerusalem to Occupied Palestinian Territories,” she told The Times of Israel.
The Israeli woman told the Times of Israel that her brother, who renewed his British passport two years ago, was still listed as being born in “Jerusalem,” leading her to believe that this could be a new policy.
She said she emailed Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely to seek an explanation, but has yet to hear back.
The Israeli woman said she applied for her new passport online and said she sent the old one by mail to the UK on May 23.
She said she received her new documentation back on Monday night, with her birthplace as the “Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
The Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem have been illegally occupied by Israel since 1967.
Last year, in November, Jerusalem was listed as a separate entity from ‘Israel’ in the UK’s updated list of countries from where you can travel to England and may not have to self-isolate.
Absolutely inappropriate to list ‘Jerusalem’ as a separate country. We have taken this up with @FCDOGovUK this morning & they are urgently reviewing it. https://t.co/k7Es31SVx8 pic.twitter.com/9aqYfIuGZ4
— Board of Deputies of British Jews (@BoardofDeputies) November 20, 2020
