The new regulation is expected to be in place for a two-year trial period, but much uncertainty surrounds its implementation.
New Israeli guidelines for foreigners to enter the West Bank further isolate Palestinians living there, while the guidelines risk turning the occupied territory “into a new Gaza,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today.
The new entry regulation into Gaza (excluding East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel) issued in February 2022, for foreigners wishing to reside, work, volunteer or study there, has been strongly condemned by the EU, United States and human rights organizations.
The effective date of this regulation was postponed after legal challenges, and Cogat, the Israeli Defense Ministry body that oversees civilian activities in the Palestinian Territories, published a revised version of these measures in September, which was also heavily criticized.
The new regulation is expected to be in place for a two-year trial period, but much uncertainty surrounds its implementation.
“By making it harder for the world to spend time in the West Bank, Israel is taking another step toward turning the West Bank into another Gaza where two million Palestinians have lived virtually cut off from the world for more than 15 years,” the Observatory said. in an announcement.
“This policy is designed to weaken the social, cultural and spiritual ties that Palestinians have sought to maintain with the outside world,” and threatens to further isolate Palestinians from their loved ones and global civil society, adds the American non-governmental human rights protection organization.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip since the Islamist movement Hamas took control of the territory in 2007.
Among the most controversial measures of the new West Bank regulation are those applied to foreign citizens who want to integrate with Palestine or their Palestinian spouse.
Israel can also reject requests for family reunification of this kind if they are contrary to “policy-level directives.”
The new restrictions imposed on foreigners who want to study, teach, do charity work in the West Bank “give the Israeli military wide discretion”, HRW deplores.
When asked by AFP, Cogat did not respond today to questions about the implementation of the new directives, nor to HRW’s criticisms.
Nearly 2.9 million Palestinians now live in the West Bank, where 475,000 Israelis also live, in the Jewish settlements — illegal under international law — that are scattered across the territory.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
