Dorothy, calling from Tel Aviv, joined colleagues Basil Ayish and Zahi Khoury, part of the Campaign for Right to Entry/Re-entry in Ramallah, to urge Senator Feinstein to “do her utmost to convince the US government that it must induce Israel’s government to change its policy; that is, on the one hand, to not restrict the number of Palestinians in the West Bank and, on the other hand, to not separate members of Palestinian families by disallowing family reunification—a right stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
We held two conference calls with Mr. Harper on this issue, with a third one in the planning. Another conference call brought our Contact Congress Teleconference team to meet with a representative of the U.S. State Department to hear what the U.S. Embassy is doing to respond to the plight of families who are being separated. And I’m happy to report some progress is being made.
According to the Campaign for Right to Entry/Re-entry,
“A notice recently issued by the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), states changes in Israel's policy of denying entry to foreign nationals traveling into the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). The notice, delivered to chief Palestinian negotiator, Dr. Saeb Erakat on December 28, 2006, states that entry of foreign nationals "will be permitted through means of the military commander's consent." The notice further explains that restricted foreign nationals will be 'eligible' to apply for temporary entry into the OPT as well as periodic visa renewals. It outlines the procedures for processing these applications. The Campaign for Right to Entry/Re-entry regards this as a rare moment when the Israeli authorities have acknowledged in writing the severe humanitarian crisis brought on by Israeli policies of denying foreign nationals the right to family reunification and entry to the OPT. Yet the COGAT notice leaves many questions unanswered and the crisis unresolved. Since these new procedures were introduced, foreign nationals with family in the OPT continue to be denied entry under circumstances, indicating the implementation of the newly announced procedures remains arbitrary, abusive and internationally unlawful…. There are more reasons for serious concern. The notice addresses only the issue of temporary admissions. Procedures remain unclear for granting residency to foreign nationals whose life and livelihood is in the OPT. Currently, Israel is refusing to consider over 120,000 applications for family unification, forcing many families to relocate abroad. Together with many foreign nationals who have established their primary business or professional activities in the OPT, or otherwise aspire to build their lives in the OPT, these new procedures place them, at best, in a state of continuous uncertainty, under constant threat of expulsion and exclusion….
The Campaign reiterates that international humanitarian law and international human rights law are the sole relevant legal references in the OPT, not Israeli law, and calls on the Government of Israel to end all arbitrary and abusive denials of entry, re-entry and family reunion in the OPT.”
