2022 Humanitarian Response Plan for Gaza and West Bank
(from Gaza) to work in Israel to 15,500 28 expected to increase to 20,000. For
Palestinians from Gaza this can translate into a salary 3-4 times higher than
they can make in Gaza. While Israel agreed to allow additional 8,000
workers from Gaza in the Israeli construction and agriculture sectors there
have been several instances of workers detained, interrogated and denied
access to Israel while attempting to cross Erez.
Israeli control of Palestinian population registry and the 'Separation Policy'
Israel continued to use its control over the movement of people and of the
Palestinian population registry to maintain the separation between Gaza
and the West Bank, 29 which is part of a policy publicly acknowledged and
implemented by Israeli authorities since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007.30
This policy impacts people's access to economic and social rights and
imposes discriminatory and arbitrary restrictions on family unifications
between Palestinians from different parts of the oPt. It also affects women
in particular³¹ and prevents most Palestinians from Gaza reaching the West
Bank, dramatically affecting about a third of Gaza residents with relatives in
the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Family visits do not represent an
accepted criterion for obtaining an exit permit from Gaza. 32 The Citizenship
and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) passed in the Knesset in March
2022, which, in line with longstanding prior policies, includes a provision
barring men under 35 and women under 25 who marry an Israeli citizen
from receiving a residency license or permit.
Provision of this law raises concern of arbitrary interference with private
and family life on discriminatory grounds. In its review of Israel's compliance
with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Human
Rights Committee has called for the law to be revoked. Other human rights
treaty bodies have also noted the restrictions are incompatible with
obligations under International Human Rights law (IHRL), including the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
International Convention on Elimination of Racial Discrimination; and the
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against
Women.
Israeli authorities justify these policies on security grounds. Human rights
organizations believe they also serve broader political goals, including
deepening the isolation of Gaza for punitive purposes, severing connections
between Gaza and the West Bank and eroding prospects of territorial
contiguity. 33 Human rights organizations have documented cases where
West Bank residents wishing to temporarily relocate to Gaza for family
purposes are forced to waive their right to return to the West Bank. The
imposition of bans on travel within the oPt raises concerns about
Palestinians' freedom of movement. In addition, refusing to allow West
Bank residents living in Gaza to return to their homes may amount to their
forcible transfer, which is prohibited under IHL.
Another long-standing issue for many Palestinians are those who are
unregistered in Israel's population registry, and therefore have no
Palestinian identification, which continues to inhibit access to services
inside and outside Gaza. More than 250,000 Palestinians not physically
present in the oPt at the time of the population census, in addition to
Palestinians born abroad since the census, were excluded from the
Population Registry and were not granted residency in the territory. The
28
As at 12 July 2022
29
30
A/73/420, para. 25; and A/HRC/34/38, paras. 62–68.
Response by the Deputy Minister of Defense to a parliamentary question in 2014, see
https://gisha.org/userfiles/File/Hidden Messages/parliamentary_question/galon/Danon_response_
to_parliamentary_question_on_movement_of_goods.pdf. See also excerpts from the State's
response in Israel, High Court of Justice, Azza Izzat and Others v. Minister of Defence, Case No. HCJ
495/12, Judgment, 16 August 2012, para. 26. Available at www.gisha.org/UserFiles/
File/Legal Documents/495-12/495-12-Excerpts-from-state-response-16.08.12.pdf.
31 (A/75/336, paras. 27-28 and A/HRC/46/63, para. 44)
32
A/73/420, para. 25.
33 See https://gisha.org/UserFiles/File/publications/Area_G/From_Separation_to_Annexation_
2020_EN.pdf; and Diamond Eitan and Bashi Sari, Separating Land, Separating People: Legal Analysis
of Access Restrictions between Gaza and the West Bank (Tel Aviv, Gisha, 2015)
8View entire presentation