In Israel new laws have come into force, allowing the expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinians from The West Bank. The Israeli Military now has the right to expel or imprison, for up to 7 years, anyone living in the West Bank without a valid residency permit. This law, designed to target “Infiltrators” makes it illegal for Palestinians born in Gaza or outside of the Occupied Palestinian Territories to live in the West Bank, unless they have been issued a permit by the Israeli authorities. This applies even to those who are married to residents of The West Bank and have children there.
It is mainly those registered as residents of Gaza, who will be targeted by this policy, which will see people who have lived for decades in The West Bank separated from their homes, jobs and families. According to Palestinian estimates up to 70,000 people could be evicted from the West Bank for failing to possess the right documentation. Israel is in charge of issuing this documentation and has consistently refused to update peoples’ residency details. It has now made criminals of tens of thousands of people, who simply moved from one Palestinian Territory to another.
Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations have condemned the move. Sari Bashi, of ‘The Gisha Centre for Freedom of Movement’ states that the removal of Palestinians from the West Bank is illegal because “a Palestinian resident does not need a permit to be present in the Palestinian territories.” She goes on to state that the removal of one family member to Gaza generally leads to the rest of the family following.
Gaza is downing under an Israeli imposed blockade, yet this policy will see more people pushed into one of the most densely populated areas of land in the world. Gaza, home to 1.4 million, has been under a blockade since 2007. The blockade prevents any trade passing between Israel and Gaza. Humanitarian aid enters Gaza from Israel, but aid supplied by the United Nations (UN) is regularly turned away because items such as blankets, clothing, candles and light bulbs are deemed security risks.
Gaza’s industry has collapsed and its ports have closed because Gazans cannot trade their goods beyond the thin strip of land that they are blockaded within. Hospitals struggle to survive on the humanitarian supplies that are allowed in and there are regular power cuts, routinely endangering the lives of patients reliant on ventilators and life support.
The blockade prevents building supplies entering the Gaza Strip, impeding the ability to rebuild homes schools and hospitals destroyed by Israeli bombing in 2008/9. Even the UN has had to freeze rebuilding projects because of lack of construction supplies.
UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon expressed his dismay at Israel’s policy on Gaza as causing “unacceptable hardships” to its people, 80% of whom live in poverty. Shrinking legitimate employment prospects, push many young people into the only industry still available to them, smuggling products from Egypt. They do this by passing through illegally built and highly dangerous tunnels that regularly collapse and claim the lives of smugglers.
Gaza is scratching at the surface of survival. It simply cannot absorb more human beings. One may ask why Israel would choose to move people from The West Bank, where they are living self-sufficiently and relatively peacefully, to Gaza, where they will be reliant on aid and living under the rule of Hamas. According to Sari Bashi, the answer is simple. This is an attempt to “rid the West Bank of Palestinians”, therefore freeing up more Palestinian land for annexation by Israel.
