Creation of the problem of family separation in the Occupied Territories

After the occupation began in 1967, Israel declared the West Bank and the Gaza Strip closed areas with movement into and out of these areas requiring the approval of the military commander. During August and September 1967, Israel took a census of the Occupied Territories. Every person over the age of sixteen living and present there at the time of the census was given permanent residency status. Israel denied the right to live in the Occupied Territories to residents of the Occupied Territories who were not present during the taking of the census. More than 300,000 Palestinians were expelled from the Occupied Territories or had left during or immediately after the 1967 war. Most of them went to Jordan. Others were already living in other countries during the war.

Persons with permanent residency status were liable to lose it. Israel revoked the residency status of residents who stayed abroad for more than six consecutive years, or for more than three years if they did not extend their exit permit during the ensuing three years. Over the years, Israel revoked the residency rights of almost 100,000 persons, most of whom now live in Jordan.

Revocation of the right of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to reside in the Occupied Territories led to the division of many Palestinian families, even across international borders. Because Palestinians often marry within the extended family, revocation of residency rights created a particularly complex situation. Maintaining close family ties, like contact between siblings and between parents and children, was made difficult by almost impenetrable border crossings, military orders, and permit requirements.

Despite political obstacles, traditional Palestinian marriage patterns continued after 1967, and they still continue today. As a result, there are a large number of marriages between residents of the Occupied Territories and Palestinians from their extended family living abroad, among them refugees from the 1967 war and descendants of the refugees from the 1948 war. Such marriages are routine among almost every family in the Occupied Territories.

Israel has ignored this reality and has employed over the years a rigid family-unification policy that conflicts with the normal pattern of life in Palestinian society. Because of the difficult circumstances created by this rigid policy, many couples have decided that their best option has been to remain in the Occupied Territories illegally by not exiting when their visitor's permits have expired. In doing so, they have been forced to live underground, constantly fearing deportation or fines.

A few days after the outbreak of the second intifada, in September 2000, Israel established a new policy governing family unification in the Occupied Territories . The policy, which has remained in effect ever since, freezes the processing of requests for family unification and visitor's permits except for a small number of exceptional cases. For the past five and a half years, the policy has severely infringed the human rights of Palestinians, in flagrant breach of Israel 's obligations under international law.