RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — All summer,
Palestinians from the millions-strong
diaspora have been flocking to the West Bank, fearful new Israeli rules
expected to take effect next week could make future visits hard if not
impossible.
اضافة اعلان
Under the
regulations, first published in February to a storm of protest, foreign
passport holders — including Palestinians living abroad — will no longer be
able to obtain visas on arrival and instead have to apply for them at least 45
days in advance.
The measures will
place significant curbs on the ability of foreigners to study, volunteer, or
work in the
West Bank, in a major blow to student exchange programs operated by
the EU among others.
In most cases
foreigners will no longer be able to arrive via Israel’s main airport near Tel
Aviv but only through the King Hussein Bridge crossing between Jordan and the
West Bank.
The new rulebook
drafted by the Israeli occupation forces is expected to come into force on
Monday after being delayed twice by legal challenges.
In the West Bank
city of Ramallah, Palestinian lawyer Rasem Kamal said he has been inundated
with clients from the diaspora wanting to register power of attorney amid deep
uncertainty about arranging their affairs.
“Many people are
rushing to come to the West Bank and finish their business here or give the
power of attorney because they understand ... there may be restrictions on
their ability to visit,” he said.
Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian-American
who divides his time between Monterey, California and the West Bank, is among
thousands visiting Ramallah to see extended family.
“I’ve been to a
wedding every day for the past two weeks, I’m exhausted,” he joked.
His wife Maggie
said they did not come to see tourist sites like the Dead Sea frequented by
other Americans.
“We come to see our
family, and enjoy the country and to teach our kids about the Palestinian
culture,” she said.
‘Draconian’
The new rules will deprive “thousands of Palestinian families of the right
to live together without interruption and to live a normal family life”, said
HaMoked, the Israeli rights group that led the supreme court appeal against the
measures.
Canadian doctor
Benjamin Thomson, one of the 19 plaintiffs involved in the legal challenge,
said the Israeli move would disrupt the work of health professionals.
“These draconian
measures will severely impact their work, and impair the lives of the
Palestinian people,” said Thomson, director of the Keys of Health project aimed
at rebuilding healthcare in the Palestinian territories.
Foreign spouses
visiting the West Bank will be limited to three or six-month permits, with
limits also placed on foreign volunteers.
“This is
micromanaging, with the purpose to damage the Palestinian social fabric,” said
Sam Bahour, a Palestinian-American businessman who moved to the West Bank from
Ohio in 1995.
The regulations
will disrupt the visits of thousands living abroad without Palestinian identity
cards.
Currently
Palestinians with a foreign passport and no Palestinian ID can avoid the huge
queues at the King Hussein Bridge crossing with Jordan by flying into Ben
Gurion airport near Tel Aviv.
There they risk
being arbitrarily denied entry after sometimes invasive security checks but
under the new rules they will have to join the thousands with Palestinian IDs
at the overstretched King Hussein Bridge.
The formalities can
take 12 hours or more during peak periods in summer.
Goal to ‘restrict’
population growth
The new rules will also set quotas for academic exchange programs,
allowing just 150 foreign professors and 100 students to attend Palestinian
universities each year.
The proposed quotas
drew a strong rebuke from the EU, whose
Erasmus+ exchange program will be
particularly hit.
In 2020, 366
European students and professors took part in courses in the West Bank,
significantly more than the overall quota for the next two years.
“While Israel
greatly benefits from Erasmus+, the (European) Commission considers that it
should facilitate and not hinder the access of students to Palestinian
universities”, Education Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said in July.
HaMoked’s director
Jessica Montell said the new regulations had “nothing to do with either”
humanitarian law nor the well-being of Palestinians, and that the goal of
Israel was to “restrict the growth of the Palestinian population through family
reunification”.
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