Space limitations prevent
listing more than a sampling of these measures here. But even looking
at them in abridged form can serve as a reminder that one needs to
analyze every regulation of the military occupation in the context of
its predecessors and their implementation on the ground. Indeed, this
is what the legal experts at the organization Hamoked: Center for the
Defense of the Individual did when they warned against the
ramifications of the new Order No. 1650 regarding Prevention of
Infiltration (Amendment No. 2).
The Israel Defense Forces
permits Palestinians to move throughout the country (Israel, the Gaza
Strip and the West Bank), by means of a "general exit permit."
The hope in Israel is that economic integration will cause national
aspirations to be forgotten. But the unintended result is freedom of
movement for all Palestinians. For the first time since 1948, the
Palestinians throughout Israel and the territories experience
themselves as one people living within the same borders, under the
same regime. Family ties, work ties, friendships and school ties -
all are forged and renewed on both sides of the Green Line.
The general rule: The
right of all Palestinians to freedom of movement is respected, aside
from certain categories determined by the Israeli authorities.
1988-1989
The first intifada: A
magnetic card, valid for one year, is introduced in the Gaza Strip
for those who have security clearance to enter Israel. In the absence
of checkpoints, it is relatively easy to get around this
restriction.
1991
January 15, on the eve of
the Gulf War: The general exit permit from the West Bank and Gaza
Strip is cancelled. From now on individual permits are required.
Gazan students who are
enrolled in studies in the West Bank do not receive permits to enter
Israel, and cannot attend school. "Split" families (between
the West Bank and Gaza) see each other less and less often, in the
absence of permits.
The police conduct daily
searches for Palestinian laborers in Israeli cities, and check
whether they have valid permits for being in Israel (as the Worker's
Hotline organization discovers, people are frequently considered
permit violators even if they are caught in a movie theater or a
cafeteria, instead of at the workplace listed on the permit. Hundreds
are arrested and fined, although generally the policy is easy to
circumvent. Also, the policy is not enforced in East Jerusalem, and
people are convinced that there is no need for a permit to stay in
their religious, cultural, and economic capital.
Peace talks are launched
at the Madrid Conference.
1993
March. A "general
closure" is imposed on the territories (existing permits are
revoked), after which the ban on leaving without individual permits
is applied more stringently in East Jerusalem (which is why to this
day West Bankers erroneously say that the actual closure policy began
in March 1993).
September. The Declaration
of Principles between the Palestine Liberation Organization and
Israel stipulates that both sides recognize Gaza and the West Bank as
a single territorial unit.
There is intensive
construction at the northern exit of the Gaza Strip, which is
transformed into a checkpoint that vets thousands of people a day. It
is operated by the Civil Administration and the IDF. Other crossings
in the Gaza Strip are shut down.
The closure becomes a
permanent reality that exists to the present. The number of travel
permits Israel grants changes occasionally, but the principle remains
the same: Freedom of mobility is denied to all Palestinians, except
for those who fall into in a number of categories that Israel
determines (laborers, businessmen, patients, collaborators,
Palestinian Authority officials, etc.)
1994
May. Civil powers in Gaza
are transferred from Israel to the Palestinians. A partial solution
to the problem of exit permits is found: Gazans depart through the
Rafah crossing, travel from there to Jordan, and enter the West Bank
via the Allenby Bridge. This solution is used mainly by students and
people with families in the West Bank.
1995
October. The Interim
Agreement (civil powers also transferred in the West Bank ). Clause
28 of the agreement stipulates that the Palestinians have the
authority to change an address on the identity card, but the change
must be reported to the Civil Administration.
1996
Contrary to what is stated
in the Oslo Accords, Israeli officers from the Civil Administration
inform Palestinians that a change of address from Gaza to the West
Bank requires Israeli authorization. Authorization is granted only to
some of those who apply for a change of address, based on unknown
criteria.
1997
Gazans are barred from
going abroad via the Allenby Bridge or from using it to enter the
West Bank, without individual permits from Israel.
1999
October. A "safe
passage" between Gaza and the West Bank is introduced along one
southern route.
2000
End of September. The
second intifada breaks out.
The safe passage is
closed.
Israel bars Gazan students
from attending school in the West Bank (the ban becomes clear
retroactively, several years later).
Israel puts a freeze on
change of addresses from Gaza to the West Bank.
2001
Entry into the Gaza Strip
of anyone who is not Gazan is reduced to a minimum (mainly in cases
of deaths of first-degree relatives).
2002
For the first time, the
authorities declare Gazans in the West Bank to be illegal residents.
Many are deported to Gaza having been incidentally discovered during
IDF raids or when crossing checkpoints.
2004
November. Army forces raid
an apartment in Bir Zeit, near Ramallah, arrest and deport to Gaza
four engineering students.
2005
The "disengagement."
Gaza Strip crossings are declared "international"
crossings.
2007
Departure from Gaza is
permitted only in extreme humanitarian cases (and to those with
connections in the PA).
For the first time since
1967, Israel institutes a permit giving permission to stay in the
West Bank intended for Gazans in the West Bank (along the lines of
the residence permit required of those who are in Israel). Many
applications for the permit are declined. Thousands of Palestinians
without permits are scared to go through internal West Bank
checkpoints, lest they be caught and deported. They live like
prisoners in their towns of residence.
2009
March. The state declares
that Palestinians from Gaza are not entitled to live in the West
Bank. This is done by means of a new regulation that comes to light
through Hamoked petitions to the High Court of Justice. The state is
willing to process applications to reside in the West Bank only for
the following groups: chronically ill patients who can only be
treated in the West Bank; minors under 16 with only one parent who
lives in the West Bank, and who do not have a relative to look after
them in the Gaza Strip; people over 65 who require nursing care and
do not have a caregiver available in the Strip. All others - those
who are healthy, not orphans, not solitary old people in need of
nursing care - do not have the right to live in the West Bank.
2010
April. A military order
goes into effect that defines anyone staying in the West Bank without
a permit as an infiltrator and a punishable offender.
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