The “security clearance” requirement for rights and public services undermines integrity of governance

"Security screening" in Palestine

-         I reviewed a study entitled "The security-clearance condition for obtaining rights and public services undermines integrity of governance" prepared by Dr. Areen Baddawan, and issued by the "Coalition for Integrity and Accountability (AMAN) 2025. The security-clearance condition and public services undermines integrity of governance. Ramallah - Palestine"..this study addressed the problem of conditioning "security clearance" or a "certificate of good conduct and behavior" as an entry requirement for obtaining rights and public services in Palestine, and analyzed the effect of this condition on integrity of governance and the rule of law.

-         The summary of this study indicates that the "security clearance" condition is not explicitly stipulated in Palestinian legislation..nor is there a specific legal reference or definition that knows and specifies what is meant by this term, or the term "certificate of good conduct and behavior," nor is there a direct definition of it from the Ministry of Interior to issue this certificate to obtain the approval of both the General Intelligence and Preventive Security apparatuses, unlike the "no criminal record" certificate which is issued by the Ministry of Justice..and the study considers that this security certificate, or as some call it (security screening), has become a tool that controls the granting of rights!

-         The study adds that the security-clearance condition initially began as a limited administrative procedure related to public security, then gradually evolved to become a tool for regulating the employment and political spheres, and in the post-split period in 2007, it transformed into a means of political exclusion!..and ended up encompassing most aspects of public life (employment, licensing, education, associations, etc.), where it became an instrument of political and security domination!

-         In this regard, the study affirms that there is a fundamental contradiction between legal texts and practical implementation..the Basic Law guarantees equality and equal opportunities..knowing that the Civil Service Law does not stipulate any security condition for employment!...just as the study itself pointed out that the High Court of Justice in 2012 ruled on the illegality of this condition.! The study also quoted the text of Article 9 of the amended Basic Law of 2003 "Palestinians are equal before the law and the judiciary; no discrimination shall be made among them because of race, sex, color, religion, or political opinion or disability according to Article 9 of the amended Basic Law of 2003,

-         The study also explains that the effects of such a condition (security clearance) convert a job from a right based on competence into a privilege conditioned on political loyalty, while discrimination is institutionalized and equal opportunities and social justice are undermined! At the same time, the study sees that the effects extend to strengthening the influence of security agencies at the expense of civil institutions! In the same context, the study believes that one of the effects of using this policing administrative condition — security clearance — is the impact on public trust in public institutions, leading to feelings of exclusion and alienation, and the entrenchment of a culture of fear and self-censorship..in addition to weakening free political participation..thus the study confirms that the security-clearance condition has moved from an administrative procedure to become a political tool for exclusion and control..and a factor that threatens the structure of the democratic system.!

-         At the conclusion of the study, several recommendations were made to resolve this issue; it recommended that the security condition be abolished because it is not legally stipulated, and be replaced by a "no criminal record" certificate, and the study also called for the establishment of oversight mechanisms independent of administrative decisions, in addition to supporting the role of civil society in accountability and documentation!

-         In this regard, I say that many countries, including some Arab countries, used such tools "security screening," where I witnessed that abroad and others from my homeland experienced it. In the 1970s in one Arab country, when I submitted my papers to occupy a position in one of its banks, after I completed the interviews and the oral and written examinations..and passed them successfully..a person in the administrative affairs office of that bank whispered to me that he would send to the security circles (the General Intelligence Directorate and the Preventive Security) to request their permission for the appointment..and as the administrative official explained to me, this was always customary as a norm, and not stipulated in the law in that country..and therefore I had to wait!..After several days the bank asked me to visit the General Intelligence Directorate..to appear before them..and this was done over two consecutive days, and the General Intelligence Directorate agreed after several days following my interview with them, and after they obtained my answers to some questions and inquiries preserved in reports and files they have!..they advised the bank that (they had no objection), and God granted me the job...this was in the early 1970s.......! I do not know and I doubt whether such security screenings still exist to this day!

-         I state my opinion that there is no objection to security screening as an administrative procedure in the State of Palestine, which has been groaning under the yoke of occupation for eight decades!. so long as it applies to everyone..in accordance with the law or accepted customs, and provided that the reference is the individual's criminal record...so that this tool (security screening) is not a broad and vague-criteria instrument to determine the eligibility of individuals, or a central tool to control access to public jobs, services, and rights, bypassing the legal texts that guarantee justice and equality, and threatening the principle of equal opportunity, as stipulated by law!

·        In this context, the study noted in its texts that some countries of the world allow the possibility of using legal restrictions and conditions on occupying public positions and obtaining certain licenses and work permits due to the sensitivity and danger of those jobs and activities, and to ensure that they are not held by unsuitable or dangerous persons for society..but there are countries such as France for example..where such screenings and conditions were widespread until the end of the 1950s of the last century, but they were restricted, defined, and their criteria specified, limiting them to the candidate's criminal record for the public position such as criminal convictions or being convicted of an offense that contradicts the conditions for obtaining a job..and this amendment was introduced in the early 1980s of the last century, after numerous complaints came from deprived qualified competencies from obtaining employment or educational grants or professional licenses!

-         The spread of feelings of exclusion and alienation in Palestine among a segment of Palestinians, due to the restriction of access to public jobs or public services by using the security-clearance condition if used — as the study clarified — as an illegal tool to redistribute opportunities and rights according to political considerations, weakens institutional integrity, and threatens the foundations of good governance in Palestine. , in a manner that causes discomfort....in a country that remains under the yoke of occupation for eight decades..and whose people suffer all kinds of oppression and subjugation..while struggling to build its democratic state and gain independence..Rights are preserved by law… not by security reports.