The saga of withdrawing or rescinding the Jordanian nationality of people of Palestinian origin continues amidst confusion about the exchange of the so-called yellow cards with green cards and vice versa of those affected.

While understanding the urgent need to regulate citizenship rights of Jordanians and former Jordanians who were residents of the West Bank in the wake of the 1988 decision to sever legal and administrative relations with the former Jordanian territory, we are at a loss as to why this regulation cannot be spelled out by law in no uncertain terms instead of resorting to administrative complications and the issuance of coloured cards.

This yellow and green card phenomenon must be replaced with another legislative mechanism to end, once for all, the confusion arising from the 1988 decision to sever all administrative and legal ties with the occupied West Bank. Normally granting and withdrawing citizenship is regulated by law and not by administrative procedures as seems to the case in our country.

The problem originally ensued from the 1988 decision to sever all administrative and legal ties with the former Jordanian territory west of the River Jordan. It was basically politically necessitated by the Arab and Palestinian decision to allow the Palestinians and their representatives to speak for themselves on how best to pursue their national rights and establish their own independent state on Palestinian soil.

That decision, however, was never translated into a legislative act approved by Parliament and ratified by the late King Hussein.

To address this legal limbo and the ensuing nuances, this issue needs to be dealt with legally and constitutionally and not by administrative regulations or cards, of whatever colour.

Unless and until we, as a country, address this legal controversy head on, the issue of withdrawing Jordanian citizenship from former Jordanians will continue to haunt us and confuse those affected. A joint committee composed of parliamentarians and representatives of the relevant ministries should be established to review this entire matter with a view to resolving it completely and thoroughly, once and for all. Otherwise there can be no end to legal litigation arising from it.