The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) and BHRC, supported by the Right to Enter campaign, have collaborated on a new report on Israel’s recent rules on the entry and residence of foreign nationals in the West Bank, published this week.
Israel’s new rules on the entry and residence of foreign nationals in the occupied West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem), referred to as the “Procedure for Entry and Residence for Foreigners in Judea and Samaria Area”, came into force in October 2022. This new report shows how this Procedure severely restricts the ability of foreign nationals, including millions of people with Palestinian heritage, to visit, work in, study or volunteer in the occupied West Bank. It finds that the Procedure is deemed to be intentionally confusing, complex and arbitrary, which allows broad discretion to Israeli army officials to deny entry, often on the basis of profiling individuals based on racial and ethnic origin. The process is further exacerbated by the fact that there are no clear routes for appeal.
Written by Dania Abul Haj and Ilora Choudhury of ICJP, with legal guidance and drafting assistance from members of BHRC’s Executive Committee, this report demonstrates how the regulations are incompatible with Israel’s duties and obligations arising out of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. BHRC and ICJP call on Israel to conduct a review of their non-compliance with international law, amend or repeal the 2022 Procedure, and remove all arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions on Palestinian people’s rights and all visitors to the occupied West Bank.
