Paris, 31 July 2003.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) expresses its deep concern at the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (temporary order 5763) passed in a rush at the Knesset today.

This law forbids residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories married to Israeli citizens or Palestinian residents in Israel to live lawfully in Israel with their companion. This law, which aims at preventing family unification, and which also applies retro-actively, will affect tens of thousands of couples. Moreover, the law will also harm the children born to those couples born in the Occupied Palestinian Territories: children under the age of 12 will be granted special residence permits, but the law is unclear as to the status of those children above the age of 12.

Since 1967, Israelis who married residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories had to apply for family unification to obtain a legal status for their spouse in Israel. Since September 2000, the issuing of residence permits for Palestinian spouses had been effectively frozen and on 12 May 2002, the Israeli government, by a unanimous decision of the cabinet, decided to freeze all request for family unification. The new draft law was submitted to the Knesset on June 4, 2003 and passed on 31st July.

This law directly discriminates against Arab citizens of Israel as a majority of Israelis married to residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories belong to the Palestinian minority of Israel (about 20% of the Israeli population). Thus, it contravenes to many international human rights instruments ratified by Israel, and in particular article 5 (d) (iv) of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination (ratified by Israel in 1979) guaranteeing “the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law in the enjoyment of (…) the right to marriage and the choice of spouse”.

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