(Jerusalem) Israel amended new rules governing life in the occupied West Bank and pushed back on Sunday the implementation of these procedures, criticized by Washington as well as human rights organizations, which consider them intrusive and restrictive.
Posted at 5:31 p.m.
Published for the first time in February, the new procedures for entering the West Bank – Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 by Israel – target foreigners wishing to reside, work, volunteer or study there.
The regulation, which was due to come into force on Monday, notably required holders of foreign passports to inform the Israeli authorities within 30 days of the formalization of a romantic relationship in the West Bank.
Cogat, the Israeli Ministry of Defense body overseeing civilian activities in the Palestinian Territories, published a revised text on Sunday that deletes the paragraph on this subject. New measures will take effect on October 20.
The implementation of these procedures had already been postponed twice, because they were challenged before the Israeli Supreme Court by 19 plaintiffs, including the Israeli human rights organization Hamoked, which denounced “intrusive and superfluous criteria”.
The text provided that foreign spouses of Palestinians would initially be granted three or six month permits, with most of them having to leave the West Bank for six months before obtaining a new permit. This mandatory period outside the West Bank has been abolished.
According to Hamoked director Jessica Montell, Israel “removed the most offensive material”.
“But the main problem remains: if a spouse is a foreigner, Israel will prevent thousands of families from being reunited, for obvious political and demographic reasons,” she laments.
On Twitter, US Ambassador Tom Nides said on Sunday, after Cogat’s amended rules were published, “expect the Israeli government to […] treats all citizens fairly […] foreigners traveling to the West Bank. »
For Salem Barahmeh, director general of the Palestinian Institute of Public Diplomacy, part of the new Israeli rules were about “control and isolation”.
“The other part is: if you can’t be together in Palestine then you will have to leave,” he wrote on Twitter.
University life was also affected: Israel had set annual quotas of 100 professors and 150 students authorized to live in the West Bank, much less than in 2020. Its decision had been criticized by the European Union, as it could affect many students in particular. Erasmus+.
These quotas do not appear in the modified version.