|
All foreign passports of spouses and
children of Palestinian ID-holders who had applied for visa extensions
were marked recently as "last permit" by the Israeli authorities. 105
passport holders are required to exit from Israeli controlled entry/exit
points before the end of the year. The Israeli Ministry of Interior (MoI)
office at Beit El began returning the passports on November 19 after a
six-week strike by Israeli MoI employees. Those who overstay their
allotted time will be considered "illegal" and are subject to immediate
deportation from the Israeli occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). In an
effort to avoid being considered "illegal" and threatened with arrest by
the Israelis, some families are opting to relocate abroad. The pattern
of refusing visa renewals for family members is part of an overall
Israeli effort that denies entry to foreign nationals seeking access to
the oPt.
The impact of Israel's practice includes the forced separation of
spouses from each other, parents from their children, educators and
students from their schools, healthcare, NGO and humanitarian workers
from access to needy communities, and business owners from their
investments. According to the PA MoI, hundreds of applications for
Israeli visa extensions following Israeli guidelines were submitted in
October and are still pending. Also, Israel is refusing to process an
estimated 120,000 family unification residency applications. Every
denial of entry and visa renewal refusal impacts an estimated 10 people,
many of whom subsequently resort to moving to another country. "This is
a silent ethnic cleansing," said Basil Ayish, a spokesperson from the
Campaign for the Right of Entry/Re-Entry to the oPt.
Despite official complaints by foreign governments of discrimination
against their citizens by Israel, Israel continues to disregard its
obligations under international law and agreements and persists in its
practice of changing the demographics within the oPt. The U.S. State
Department, EU, and at least one Latin American country have all
submitted demarches to Israeli officials since October. Foreigners
wishing to reside in, visit or work in the oPt continue to be banned at
Israeli-controlled ports of entry.
Because Israel refuses to permit non-Jewish foreigners from receiving
residency status in the oPt, the only mechanism for foreign
passport-holding spouses and children of Palestinian ID- holders to join
their families has been to rely on a system of continuously renewable
1,2,or 3- month 'visitor' permits. This practice was widely expected to
be a transitory measure until mechanisms were put in place to provide
permanent residency status for non-ID holding family members. Some
family members have been following this procedure for more than 30 years
as the only option open to them.
More Features
|
