“social characteristics”.128 The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah), filed a petition to have the law made illegal by the Israeli Supreme Court, however, in 2014 the petition was dismissed.129 Despite the law being criticized by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,130 the majority opinion of the Israeli Supreme Court stated that it is too soon to determine if the Admission Committees Law will be used to discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel.131 Restrictions of Access from Abroad Israel applies a policy of denying entrance to Israel or the oPt to nonresidents of Palestinian or Arab descent, even though they have never carried a citizenship of an Arab country. Here, it is important to note that Israel controls all entry points into the oPt. For example, the US consulate in Jerusalem warns US citizens that those “the Israeli authorities suspect of being of Arab, Middle Eastern, or Muslim origin (…) face additional, often timeconsuming, and probing questioning by immigration and border authorities, or may even be denied entry into Israel or the West Bank.”132 However, not only people of Palestinian or Arab descent are frequently denied entry into Israel and or the oPt. Israel also frequently denies entry to foreigners who are suspected of being political activists or who are suspected of wanting to visit the occupied Palestinian territory.133 Therefore, anyone wishing to visit the oPt must comply with Israeli visa regulations. Among those denied entry is Richard Falk, then UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, who afterwards wrote that ”it seemed that Israel wanted to teach me, and more significantly, the UN a lesson: there will be no cooperation with those who make strong criticisms of Israel’s occupation policy.”134 128 Ibid. 129 Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, “Israeli Supreme Court upholds “Admission Committees Law” that allows Israeli Jewish communities to exclude Palestinian Arab citizens”, 17 September 2014. Available at: http://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/8327 130 UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), “Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under Article 9 of the Convention – Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Israel”, 9 March 2012, page 2-3. Available at: http://www2. ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/CERD.C.ISR.CO.14-16.pdf 131 Amjad Iraqi, “Israeli Supreme Court Made Unjust Decision in Upholding ‘Segregation Law’, The World Post, 30 September 2014. Available at: www.huffingtonpost.com/amjad-iraqi/israeli-high-courtmade-u_b_5886224.html 132 Consulate General of the United States, “Entering and Exiting Jerusalem, The West Bank, and Gaza” , located 24 November 2015. Available at: jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/entering.html 133 See for example Harriet Sherwood, “Israel blocks entry to pro-Palestinian activists at airport”, The Guardian, 15 April 2012. Available here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/15/israelblocks-entry-pro-palestinian-activists; and LinahAlsaafin, “Israel Restricts Entry of Foreigners Into Palestinian Territories”, Al-Monitor, 7 March 2013. Available at: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/ originals/2013/03/israel-restricts-foreign-nationals-entry.html 134 Richard Falk, “My expulsion from Israel”, The Guardian, 19 December 2008. Available at: http://www. theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/dec/19/israel-palestinian-territories-united-nations 37