Israel has dropped a controversial requirement for foreigners visiting the occupied West Bank to denounce romantic ties with Palestinians within 30 days.
The revised rules also for foreigners who reside or intend to visit the territory eliminate a quota for university teachers and students from abroad.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh described them as “racist measures”.
Israel says restrictions on travel to the West Bank are for security reasons.
US Ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, said he was “aggressively involved” with the Israeli government and “continued to be concerned about the published protocols.” European diplomats earlier said they had raised their concerns “at the highest level” with Israeli authorities.
Shtayyeh urged the US and EU to exert diplomatic pressure to bring about more change.
The cases involve thousands of expatriate spouses, as well as Palestinians in the diaspora, businessmen, academics and volunteers.
A senior source at the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat), the Israeli Ministry of Defense unit responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, said that they are intended “for the convenience of foreigners” and would allow requests longer-term visas.
Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War and continues to occupy it. In February, Cogat released a lengthy document titled “Procedures for the Entry and Residence of Foreigners in Judea and Samaria Territory” — using the biblical term Israel uses to refer to the West Bank. It was intended to replace the four-sided one.
Israel says restrictions are necessary for its security
However, petitions to the High Court have delayed the entry into force of the rules.
The updated document removed the requirement for a foreigner establishing a relationship with a West Bank Palestinian to notify Israeli authorities in writing within 30 days.
The revised draft adds new work permit categories for teachers and doctors and removes a limit of 100 guest lecturers and 150 students at Palestinian universities.
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It also allows the extension of visas for foreigners from 90 days to 180 days.
In addition, it now provides a route for citizens of Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, South Sudan and Morocco – all countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel – to apply for an entry permit, which was not the case before.
Despite the changes, Ambassador Nides raised questions “about Cogat’s role in determining whether people invited by Palestinian academic institutions are qualified to enter the West Bank and the potential negative impact on family unity.”
The new agreements, which affect many Americans with dual citizenship, have complicated recent discussions on Israel’s entry into the US visa waiver program.
The new rules do not apply to those visiting Israel, as well as Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank.
In such cases, entry is the responsibility of the Israeli immigration authorities.
As the basis of its authority, Cogat cites the Oslo Accords, interim peace accords from the 1990s that required Israeli approval to grant residency to foreign spouses and children of Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and to approve visitor permits.
However, Israeli lawyer Leora Bechor, who petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of the NGO HaMoked against the rules, says that by dealing with the Palestinian population register, she is ‘directly violating’ these agreements . “Instead of the Palestinian Authority determining which foreigners receive Palestinian ID cards, as dictated by the Oslo Accords, Israel is embracing this right under the new policy, drafting a set of requirements so onerous that no foreign spouse can fill it,” she says.
She says many calls for changes in the new document have been “completely ignored” and that “severe restrictions” continue to affect all aspects of Palestinian civil society. The new rules were released on Sunday evening and are set to come into effect on October 20 for a two-year pilot period.
Israeli officials say more changes are possible and talks are underway with the Palestinian Authority, foreign diplomats and others.
