Israel gives IDs to West Bank Palestinians
October 19, 2021
Israel said Tuesday it will give 4,000 Palestinians living in the West Bank identity cards as part of an official registration drive that has been frozen for years.
The Israeli government decision to formalize the legal status of undocumented residents will in particular benefit 2,800 former Gaza Strip citizens who live in the West Bank.
Why do Palestinians need ID cards?
The Palestinian population registry allows West Bank residents to receive ID cards that will enable them to pass through Israeli military checkpoints in the area.
Israel took control of the West Bank during the 1967 Six-Day War, and Israeli forces regularly clash with residents of the territory.
The Israeli government has described the roadblocks as a necessary security measure, much to the ire of Palestinian and human rights groups who say it makes life difficult for residents.
The new initiative will benefit 2,800 former inhabitants of the Gaza Strip who came to the West Bank in 2007, fleeing Hamas during an internal Palestinian conflict, said COGAT, the Israeli military body that coordinates civilian affairs in the occupied territories.
Another 1,200 "undocumented" Palestinians, which includes spouses and children of West Bank residents, will also now find it easier to move through Israeli checkpoints.
Israel had previously suspended peace deal plans to approve the residency of 4,000 new spouses of residents every year under a family reunification program following a Palestinian uprising in 2000, known as the Second Intifada.
Israel granted 32,000 reunification permits in 2008 and 2009, but mainly shelved the process apart from from some humanitarian cases.
How have authorities reacted?
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz posted about the "humanitarian" measure on Twitter "as part of my policy to the strengthen the economy and improve the lives of Palestinians."
Gantz approved the new identity documents seven weeks after he met with Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh also tweeted about the measure.
"Today, four thousand names will be announced, who have obtained their right to citizenship, they will receive Palestinian identities as well as the change of their residential address," he said.
About 475,000 Israeli Jews live in West Bank settlements considered illegal under international law.
Israeli Prime Minister has ruled out formal peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, a controversial issue in the coalition that forced Benjamin Netanyahu from office after 12 years.
jc/wd (Reuters, AFP)