Amnesty flays \"Israel\" for keeping foreign spouses out of Occupied Territories

Source: Compiled by Daily Star, 22-3-2007
\r\nAmnesty International condemned "Israel" on Wednesday for barring tens of thousands of foreigners who are married to residents in the Occupied Territories from living with their spouses, describing the measure as "discriminatory and collective punishment." In a report entitled "Right to Family Life Denied: Foreign spouses of Palestinians barred," Amnesty said that under the Geneva Conventions, "Israel", as an occupying power, is obliged to respect the family rights of Palestinians under its rule.
\r\nThe Amnesty report rejected "Israeli" claims that the restrictions are a security necessity and added there has been no documented case in which an individual "within this category has been responsible for or involved in any important security incident."
\r\nThe report accused "Israel" of "profound" discrimination against the Palestinians since spouses of Jewish settlers living "illegally" in the Occupied Territories are allowed to enter the Palestinian areas and live there.
\r\n"The restrictions do not target individuals but apply to spouses of Palestinians in general and, therefore, are wholly discriminatory. As such, they may constitute a form of collective punishment against Palestinians" in the Occupied Territories the report added.
\r\nThe report said that "Israeli" violations of the right to family life have "persisted for decades and worsened over the past six years" affecting at least 120,000 families in 2006 alone.
\r\nIn the past, foreign spouses were allowed to enter and live in the Occupied Territories by "obtaining a temporary visitor`s visa" pending procedures to obtain a permanent residence permit, which often takes years for the "Israeli" authorities to issue, the report said.
\r\nThe temporary visa was renewed ever three months by leaving the Occupied Territories and obtaining a new visitor`s visa on re-entering "Israel".
\r\nFollowing the second Intifada, however, "Israel" suspended all the "family unification" procedures, blocking the release of residence permits and the renewal of temporary visas.
\r\nThe new restrictions left foreign nationals with two options, the report said, "remain in the [Occupied Territories] illegally - or leave and be separated" from their families.
\r\nOne such example is Inaya Samara, a 56-year-old US national of Palestinian origin, who had lived in the occupied West Bank town of Ramallah for 31 years with her husband and their two children.
\r\n"For three decades she had to travel abroad every three months to renew her tourist visa. The family`s repeated attempts to obtain family unification and establish Inaya Samara`s right to reside in the [Occupied Territories] were unsuccessful. On 26 May 2006, after more than 120 trips, she was denied entry when she tried to return home to the [Occupied Territories]. She did not see her family until 23 February 2007 when the `Israeli` Interior Ministry allowed her a three-month visa. She does not know if it will be renewed."
\r\nAnother case is that of Yehya Bassa, a 40-year-old date merchant and resident in the Occupied Territories whose Jordanian wife and two daughters live in Amman.
\r\nHe used to regularly travel to Jordan to see his family and conduct business.
\r\nAccording to the report, Bassa`s troubles started four years ago when he refused a request by Shin Bet, "Israel`s" internal security service, to become an informer.
\r\n"For the next two years he was not allowed to leave the [Occupied Territories] to visit Jordan. He appealed to the `Israeli` High Court and was then allowed two visits," the report said. "Then `Israeli` security personnel offered to allow him to leave the [Occupied Territories] if he would stay away for four years. He refused. In 2006 he was arrested and placed in administrative detention without charge or trial for six months."
\r\nFollowing his release, the "Israeli" authorities said they would allow Bassa to travel to Jordan and return - on condition he stays there for four years.
\r\nLater Bassa brought an action before the high court to allow his wife and daughters entry to the territories. This has not yet been heard. "`Israel`s` state prosecutor allowed him to meet his wife and daughters on the Allenby Bridge that spans the Jordan River and forms the border between `Israel` and Jordan, but for just three hours."
\r\n"His elder daughter, Nour, who is a Palestinian ID-holder, was later allowed to join him temporarily inside the West Bank," while Bassa`s wife and younger daughter are still being refused entry.
\r\nFollowing Hamas` victory in the 2006 elections, "Israeli" officials imposed new restrictions on spouses from countries for whom advance visas are not required to enter "Israel" such as the United States and some European countries, the report said.
\r\nThe additional measures also prevented re-entry of foreigners who work in education or economic development to help ease dire economic and humanitarian conditions in the Occupied Territories. Following protests against the restrictions this year, "Israel" granted short extensions of visas to only 200 foreigners who had been previously refused re-entry.
\r\nAmnesty urged the "Israeli" authorities to resume family unification procedures "in an expeditious and non-discriminatory manner." The report recommended the urgent creation of a mechanism to process the "backlog of thousands of applications and to re-examine applications that were refused prior to the suspension of the processing of applications."
\r\nThe report also recommended that "Israel" ensure that foreign nationals and applicants for family unification are not refused a visa without a clearly stated reason, "so that they may challenge the grounds for rejection."\r\n