The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights (JCSER) reported that the Israeli Authorities stripped the residency rights of Ammar Khaled Badriyya, and his family, living in Al Matar neighborhood, in Qalandia, in occupied East Jerusalem.Badriyya lives in the neighborhood with his wife and three children. In March 2009 Israel suspended Social Security Services to the resident and his family, and claimed that they “do not live in Jerusalem.” In addition they demanded he pay a one million Israeli Shekels for “payments and services provided by the Social Security Administration to him and his family over the past 10 years”.
He told the JCSER that he provided the authorities with all documentation proving that he lives within the boundaries of the Jerusalem Municipality, and even provided them official maps of Jerusalem drawn by Israel after it occupied its eastern side in 1967.
City Council engineer in Jerusalem claimed that 85% of Badriyya’s home is situated in the West Bank and the remaining 15% is within the boundaries of Jerusalem.
Social Security Services in Jerusalem and the Jerusalem municipality then determined that his home is classified to be located in the West Bank, and not in East Jerusalem.
On September 21, 2011, an Israeli court ruled that the Badriyya family lives in the West Bank, and claimed that Khaled “was not able to produce any documents to state otherwise”. The ruling was made despite the fact that he filed for official documents at the so-called Israel Land Authority but the department kept delaying his request.
“As a result of this issue, Social Security blocked all services to me and my family, including health benefits despite the fact that my youngest daughter suffers from several health issues and requires frequent hospitalizations”, Badriyya stated, “My attorney told me that the Israeli decision effectively strips me and my family from our residency rights”.
Badriyya was born in Jerusalem; he has been living, along with his wife and daughters, at a residential neighborhood in Al Matar for the last 12 years. His daughters are identified as Wafa’, 13, Qamar, 8, and Eyaan, 4.
