Family Unification in Israel and Jerusalem Increasingly restrictive policies have been adopted that make it extremely difficult, and often even impossible, for citizens and residents of Israel married to Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory to obtain family unification. Following the 1967 War, human movement between the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel was largely unrestricted. As a result, couples consisting of Palestinian residents of Gaza or the West Bank and Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem or citizens of Israel did not typically apply for family unification. However, in 1991 Israel imposed new requirements demanding Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory be in possession of a permit in order to enter Israel, including occupied and annexed East Jerusalem. With the introduction of closures and checkpoints, Palestinians found it increasingly difficult to travel to East Jerusalem and Israel, prompting an exponential rise in the number of family unification applications. The ongoing construction of the Israeli Annexation Wall compounds this issue further, making it virtually impossible for Palestinian residents of the West Bank to visit family members who live in East Jerusalem or Israel without the necessary permit. Therefore, Israeli-administered family unification procedures are the only available avenue for Palestinians who find themselves separated from their families, and the current legislative basis for these procedures is provided by the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Provision). This law – passed by the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) in July 2003 and renewed annually up to the present day83 – prevents Palestinians with West Bank or Gaza Strip IDs, or residents of “enemy states” (Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Iraq)84 from gaining Israeli citizenship or permanent residency by way of marriage to an Israeli citizen. The law only allows for the granting of permits to reside or stay in Israel for purposes of medical treatment or fixed-term employment for a period which cannot cumulatively exceed six months. The motivation underpinning this policy is revealed through consideration of statements made by Israeli officials. In May 2002 – just months before the new law was unveiled – the then Minister of Interior, Eli Yishai, declared that between 1993 and 2002, roughly 140,000 Palestinians had moved to Israel or East Jerusalem by way of family unification permits. Yishai went on to stress the need for legislation which would “help to halt the phenomenon and maintain 83 On March 19, 2014, the Israeli government decided to extend the validity of the Temporary Order for another year. 84 Mossawa Centre, “Policy Paper: Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order)” (Mossawa Centre, 2012), http://www.mossawacenter.org/my_documents/publication2/2012%20 Citizenship%20and%20Entry%20into%20Israel%20Law.pdf. 35