Welcome to the State of Israel … under this statement/ announcement Israel is adding yet another obstruction to prohibit foreigners from entering the Palestinian Territories as if the 84 permanent military checkpoints, 58 trenches, 95 military concrete block barriers and the 464 earth-ruble (Haaretz) are not enough to put off intentions of anyone craving to visit the Palestinian territories. Apparently, that is the case, as it seems that Israel has failed to detach or discourage people from coming to the Holy Land and into the Palestinian territories, which made the government of Israel instigate new procedures for foreigners of every category (pilgrims, tourists, business people and others) to carry out prior to their entrance to areas under Palestinian jurisdiction (Area 'A').
The information sheet distributed to all foreigners entering the borders from the Israeli Ben-Gurion Airport, Erez Checkpoint, Jiser al Malik Husayyn (Allenby Bridge) and Jisr esh Shiakh Husayyn (the only borders entry to the Palestinian territories under Israeli control) and planning to enter the Palestinian areas. See map below . .
The new regulations strictly forbid any visitor from entering the Palestinian territories (West Bank & Gaza) without proper authorization issued from Israel. The stipulations also warns against disregarding the regulations that will result in serious legal repercussions including deportation or/ and banning of future reentrance into the State of Israel. The devised regulations instruct those wishing to enter the Gaza area to submit their request to the Foreign Relations Office in the Coordination & Liaison Administration located at Erez crossing in Gaza. Furthermore, the information sheet also states that the permission request will be processed with the utmost urgency for authorization within 5 working days emphasizing that the submission of the request does not constitute an authorization for entrance. See the sheet below.
* Courtesy of International Solidarity Movement
* Information sheet of the new regulation/ warning handed to all categories of visitors wishing to enter the Palestinian Territories in the West Bank and/ or Gaza.
Clearly, it is Israel intentions to cut-off the Palestinians from the world to minimize immediate contact of visitors, pilgrims, tourists among others to come and see first hand Israeli routine abolition of the Palestinian population. The restrictions, which made obligatory for visitors to Palestinian territories, aimed to deny the visitors the chance to enter the Palestinian territories as their visit would usually extend for a week or 10 days at the most for some of them (only few days for business people). By such procedures, Israel is literally coercing travelers to stay in Israel for 5 days or more since that the authorization is processed only during the working days excluding the weekend in Israel, Friday and Saturday. The Israeli procedures imposed on visitors to Palestinian territories will have serious effects on the economy, which is already in catastrophic status due to the Israeli procedures and restrictions imposed in the Palestinian territories prior to the new regulations. The Tourism sector will suffer the most, as the little number of tourists whom are still willing to visit the holy land will grow tentative to do so after these incapacitated procedures. Israel also seeks to demonize the ever growing and increasing support to the Palestinian Authority and President Yasser Arafat by putting supporting groups' enthusiasms to 5 days freeze until the authorization is issued – if issued! Supporting groups from all over the world come for a quick tour of the West bank, Gaza and to President Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah and that translates to 3 or 4 days which, is not even the time required for the authorization from the Israeli side to be issued, … and that is probably another hidden clause of the Israeli agenda. The Israeli impediments will control the work of all humanitarian organizations operating in the Palestinian territories as the authorization granted to such organizations and individuals is under constant threat of revoke. The restriction and control that Israel seeks to impose on humanitarian organization and peace groups are no other than another form of suppression of the truth about what is going on in this part of the world, which, Israel have been doing for decades.
Palestinians has always welcomed visitors and treated with the utmost generosity during their stay in the Palestinian territories. The only threat and danger they were inflicted came from the Israelis, Mary Corey the American martyr who Israeli bulldozers crashed while attempting to stop the Israeli monstrous machine from demolishing Palestinians houses in Gaza in 2003 and just recently, Tom Horendal, a British peace activist died after he went in comma in April 2003 after he was shot by the Israeli Army during a protest in Gaza.
A different ramification of the Israeli procedures involves tens of thousands of Palestinians who were denied their residency status for residing abroad prior to the year 1986, which means that any of those Palestinians holding foreign passport would be subjected to the new procedures when coming to visit their own families.
The new regulations went into effect as of January 4, 2004, which compel all foreigners residing in the Palestinian territories or in Israel to apply for authorization from the Israeli State Department or the Civil Administration, to enter the Palestinian areas.
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
