Ramallah, 24-08-06: The Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) today welcomed the publication of a joint report by Israeli human rights organizations, B’Tselem and HaMoked: Centre for the Defence of the Individual, uncovering the extent of Israel’s attempts to prevent the unification of Palestinian families living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). [1]
Tens of thousands of Palestinian residents of the OPT are married to non-residents, [2] and according to Israeli law, must file a request for family unification to enable them to live in the OPT with their spouses.
Shortly after the outbreak of the second Intifada, Israel stopped processing requests submitted by Palestinian residents for family unification with their spouses and family members living abroad, and no longer issues temporary visitor’s permits to these non-residents.
Over the last six years, an estimated 120,000 requests for family reunification have been made by Palestinians in the OPT, none of which have been approved by the Israeli authorities. [3] In addition, tens of thousands of requests before this latest policy was introduced are still pending. [4] According to B’Tselem and HaMoked, if Israel were to begin handling family unification requests under the quota set in 2000 (4,000 per year), it would take at least 30 years to process the backlog of requests.
The painful reality of this policy means that tens of thousands of Palestinian families are unable to live under the same roof; children are forced to grow up in single-parent families; many do not leave the OPT to seek medical treatment for fear that Israel will prevent them from returning; and tens of thousands of women live in the OPT with no legal status, facing the constant threat of arrest and deportation, becoming prisoners in their own home and unable to live a normal life. [5]
This policy is just one facet of Israel’s long-term effort to transform the demographic reality within both Israel and the OPT in favour of a Jewish majority and an ever-decreasing Palestinian minority.
Notes
[1] B’Tselem/HaMoked. 15 August 2006. Perpetual Limbo: Israel’s Freeze on the Unification of Palestinian Families in the Occupied Territories: