On 14 May 2006, the Israeli High Court of Justice voted 6-5 in favor of an amendment to the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law that bars family reunification for Israelis, particularly Palestinian-Israelis, married to Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This law affects tens of thousands of couples including Palestinian-Israelis inside the Green Line and in Jerusalem, who are also subject to Israeli law and who often marry Palestinians from inside the occupied territories.

According to Amnesty International, the law violates the absolute prohibition on discrimination contained in international human rights law, notably several treaties which Israel has ratified and is obliged to uphold, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Israel is also violating the International Declaration of Human Rights. Article 16 of the Declaration states, “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family,” and “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.”

In addition, The Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, to which Israel is party, requires signatory states to enable every foreign woman married to a citizen of the state to obtain the citizenship held by her husband, at her request, through special and preferred citizenship procedures.

For Palestinian ID holders married to Israeli citizens or permanent residents of Jerusalem, this means they must either build their family outside of the country or choose to live “illegally” inside Israel, which subjects them to the constant threat of arrest, deportation and harassment. In addition, living illegally means they are not entitled to any rights of a resident/citizen and cannot therefore work, drive or conduct otherwise routine everyday actions.

Hence, we the undersigned call on the relevant parties (the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process & Personal Representative of the Secretary General, the Middle East Quartet, the Israeli High Court of Justice, and the Office of the Israeli Prime Minister) to have this discriminatory law annulled, insomuch that it prohibits Palestinian families to live in peace and prosperity with their spouses inside Israel and Jerusalem and which contravenes all laws of humanity, which respect the sanctity of the family unit. This is especially true in regards to the right of children to be brought up in a stable home without the risk of deportation and harassment on the sole basis of nationality.

The following petition has been instituted by Mossawa, The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel. Please consider signing the petition, and passint it on.

To: All elected governments

On July 31st, 2003, the Israeli Knesset passed the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) 2003 prohibiting citizenship, permanent residency and/or temporary residency status to West Bank/Gaza Palestinians married to Israeli citizens. Nearly all of the affected Israeli families are Arab. According to Israel's Ministry of Interior, the law, to be applied retroactively, will affect 21,298 families. The law also denies citizenship to children born of an Israeli citizen and resident of the Occupied Territories. Via special permission from Israel's Interior Minister children will be allowed to remain with their family in Israel until the age of 12, when the child will be uprooted and forced to leave the state.

This law is considered a new level of human rights violations by the State of Israel, taking into consideration the 27 Arab citizens killed by Security Forces since October 2000 and the ongoing social, economic and political discrimination against Arab citizens. Israel's expressed security concerns related to a handful of cases, does not justify the collective punishment of over 100,000 innocent individuals. Civil rights attorneys point out that the law will not apply to settlers in the West Bank/Gaza.

The Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) 2003 violates Israel's commitment to the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's (ICERD) basic condemnation of racial discrimination described in articles 1, 2, and 3. The current law also relates to Article 5.d. (iv): "States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, color, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the right to marriage and choice of spouse."

The current law builds upon a series of attempts by the State to limit the number of Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. As of September 2000, the issuing of residence permits for Palestinian spouses has been effectively frozen. On May 12, 2002, the Israeli cabinet formalized and expanded this policy "in light of the security situation and because of the implications of the immigration and the establishment in Israel of foreigners of Palestinian descent" (Government Decision no. 1813).

The bill highlights the "demographic debate" in Israeli society, characterized by questions of citizenship, immigration and fertility policy. Former Minister of Interior, Shas member Eli Yishai often presented his view that Arab families present "a demographic threat" to the maintenance of a Jewish majority in Israel. In 2002, Yishai reinstated the Demographic Council, a body charged with the goal of maintaining a demographic balance (i.e. a Jewish majority) in Israel. The Demographic Council recommended discouraging growth of families by cutting child-subsidies; at the same, it advocated the launching of programs encouraging Jewish births.

Therefore, we the undersigned world citizens condemn the Israeli government's passage of the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) 2003 and the multiple human rights violations it represents. We call upon our elected leadership to continue expressing opposition to the law by taking steps towards suspension of economic relations with the State of Israel.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned

The National Initiative to Resist the Wall

Dear Sir/Madame,

On June 23rd 2002, Israel started the construction of what it calls a “security fence,” but what the world overwhelmingly recognizes as a “separation or colonization wall.” This wall is to be built in three phases and by the time it is finished, 55% of the West Bank would be captured. The West Bank which includes east Jerusalem makes up 22% of historical Palestine and along with Gaza is intended to form a future viable and independent state for the Palestinians is accordance with President Bush’s June 2001 vision of two states living side by side in peace.

The construction of the “colonization wall” is a grave violation of human rights, international law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention, and most importantly the international will. The Wall will seize the wealthiest Palestinian agricultural land and will manage to increase the area available for the development of illegal settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land. The Wall is designed to grant Israel control over the water resources which exist on the western and eastern sides of the West Bank. The western and eastern sides will become “security zones” providing linkage between the Green Line and the Jordan Valley while dividing the Palestinian urban areas and neighborhoods into isolated communities, which are completely surrounded by Israel.

The myth that this wall separates Palestinians form Israelis needs to be addressed. In the first phase alone, the route of the wall moved into Palestinian territories some 20 kilometers at some points in order to incorporate illegal Jewish settlements built near the Green Line, while leaving 23 settlements, home to 196,000 Israeli settlers on the Palestinian side of the wall and inside the Jerusalem envelope.

The already constructed northern part of the Wall has resulted in the uprooting of 83,000 trees, the damaging of 35,000 meters of irrigation networks and the demolishing of 280 Palestinian homes. Frighteningly, these numbers are expected to at least triple by the time the wall is completed.

This wall is a direct violation of Palestinian rights guaranteed by the UN Declaration of Human Rights. The right of movement has been severely impacted by the gates and electronic fences that are accompanied by remote controlled machine guns to assure that no one living close to the wall can move around. Concomitantly, the right to work and have an adequate standard of living has been gravely curtailed, as Palestinians are imprisoned behind concrete walls. Moreover, the right to property has all but disappeared as 55% of the land belonging to the Palestinians that forms a significant part of the West Bank will be confiscated by Israel. Last but not least, the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of mental or physical health and education has been devastated by the inherent lack of resources brought on by the above restrictions.

Israel has disclosed plans that it intends to annex the strategic Jordan River Valley to Israel. A senior Israeli official said the plan for the wall that would cut the Jordan River Valley off from the rest of West Bank has been approved. Nineteen small illegal Israeli settlements dot the Jordan River Valley, a parched, hot strip of barren land punctuated by two main oases — the Palestinian towns of Jericho and Jiftliq.

Palestinians and the international community, including the US, fear the partition's route will harden into a de facto border and prejudice negotiations. It is clear to the international community that’s this wall encroaches beyond its ‘security’ purpose. It goes along with Sharon’s long-standing concept of a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians that would give them control over populated enclaves around the West Bank, while ensuring that Israel would maintain control over the entire periphery.

President Bush was quoted as saying: “there is a difference between security and land acquisition.” It is that kind of leadership and stance we expect from the protector of human rights, international law and democratic values, which should apply to all. While the American administration has been vocal in its opposition of the wall, it has been weak in its actions, resulting in growing mistrust for the American role and evenhandedness in making Middle East peace. It is time to take a stance with justice and with human rights. It is time to think of the future and put an end to this land theft for the sake of true peace in the region.

We call upon you, our world leaders and the Israeli Prime Minister to take a brave stance for justice and human rights. One can only lead through good will and equality for only then can one trust others’ intentions and cooperate accordingly. “With great powers come great responsibilities,” so we turn to you to save the Palestinian existence along with what is left of Palestinian land. Without justice there can never be peace, we simply turn to you and expect from you to uphold the values you preach and give peace a chance.