Israel’s Control of Palestinian Residency in the West Bank and Gaza
(Manal Alsaafin holds a photograph of her and her husband, Abdullah, whom Israeli authorities have prevented from returning to his home in the West Bank since 2009 on the basis that they have “registered” him as a resident of the Gaza Strip, not the West Bank)
This report describes the arbitrary exclusion by the Israeli military of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians since 1967 and documents the impact that exclusion continues to have on individuals and families. The way Israel’s military has exercised its control over the Palestinian population registry – the list of Palestinians whom it considers to be lawful residents of the West Bank and Gaza territories – has separated families, caused people to lose jobs and educational opportunities, barred people from entering the Palestinian territories, and trapped others inside them. Egypt also has problematic policies on Palestinians trying to enter Gaza that are based on the Israeli-controlled population registry.
Israel’s Control of Palestinian Residency in the West Bank and Gaza
Map: The
West Bank and Gaza Strip
Summary
Recommendations
To the
Government of Israel
To the
Government of Egypt
To the
Palestinian Authority
To the
Quartet
To Third
Party States
Methodology
I.
Background to Current Israeli Policies
Control of
the Registry from the Occupation to the Oslo Accords (1967- 1994)
The Oslo
Period Prior to the Second Intifada (1995 -2000)
II.
Israel’s “Freeze” of the Population Registry
Freeze on
Address Changes and “Illegal Presence” in the West Bank
Freeze on
Family Reunification
Freeze on
Entry Permits to the West Bank and Gaza
Continuing
Effects of the Permit Freeze in Gaza
III. Case
Studies
Palestinians
Denied Registration Due to Absence During the 1967 Census
Palestinians
Deleted from the Population Registry
Palestinians
Denied Residency after Moving from Gaza to the West Bank
Palestinians
and Foreigners Denied the Ability to Live With Their Families
Palestinian
Children Denied Residency
IV.
Israel’s International Legal Obligations
Right to
Freedom of Movement
Right to
Family Unity
Other
International Legal Obligations
Israel’s
Authority under the Law of Occupation
Correspondence
with Israeli Authorities
Acknowledgments