Al-Quds, the leading Palestinian daily, used bright red ink to highlight its March 17 headline. The Palestinian newspaper of record, published in East Jerusalem since 1951, did so to celebrate the March 16 decision by the Israeli High Court of Justice recognizing the “special” status of East Jerusalem Palestinians. “Jerusalemites ‘citizens by birth,’ not immigrants,” blared the headline.

The article that followed included extensive quotes from the court's unanimous decision requiring the reissuing of permanent residency to Akram Abdel Haqq, a 59-year-old Palestinian from Jerusalem who had left for the US decades prior. Upon returning to his hometown, he was told that he would have the same status as a tourist; that is, he no longer had residency rights.

Abdel Haqq had been 9 years old when Israel captured and occupied East Jerusalem, in 1967. Three years later, in 1970, his family emigrated to the US. Abdel Haqq returned to Jerusalem in 1989 to discover his residency rights revoked.

Adi Lustigman, the Israeli lawyer who defended Abdel Haqq, told Al-Monitor that the case will guide Israeli Interior Ministry officials for years. “It is a precedent that Palestinians who have had their residency revoked or are worried about losing their residency should be very pleased with,” she said.