Article74 Magazine

Since September 1991, some 350 people have succeeded in remaining with their families in the West Bank by means of temporary restraining orders preventing their deportation until the High Court considers their and others’ cases. The orders also prohibit the civil administration from collecting the NIS 5,000 (US $ 2,300) guarantee of departure. Possibly as a result of the pressure caused by load of cases collected by Israeli, Palestinian, and international human rights institutions and lawyers, the Israeli government asked for a postponement of the High Court session scheduled to deal with the question of non-resident deportation on May 13, 1992. The new court hearing is scheduled for November 29, 1992. 
Meanwhile the authorities stated that they wished to make an offer intended to solve the problem of spouses and other near relatives of residents. This offer has not yet been formally presented. According to informal information, it would take the form of a general amnesty for spouses and minor children of residents present in the West Bank as of May 31, 1992. Under the proposed general amnesty they would receive regular six-month extensions of their visit permits without having to leave the country. Implementation of this policy began almost immediately. 
In June, the borders of the Occupied Territories were reopened. Visit permits, which had been unavailable since September 1991, became available. West Bank residents, who had been waiting for months to bring their spouses back home, applied immediately. Many of these applications were rejected, often more than once. 
Young men who had signed marriage contracts and applied for visit permits to bring their brides to the West Bank were told that there were no visit permits at all for brides. There was no discernible pattern regarding permits, and within weeks Hotline and ACRI had filed dozens of complaints from people whose spouses had been denied entrance. These complaints remained unanswered throughout the time the border was open. In September, the borders closed again, visit permits are unavailable until next June, and the thousands of visit permits for people who entered the West Bank this summer have begun to expire. The future of those remaining in the country is unpredictable. Although the legal advisor said that nobody would be deported and no fines would be collected from people who entered this summer before the November court hearing, local civil administrations in the West Bank have been ordering people to leave and threatening them with the NIS 5,000 fine or with forcible expulsion if they remained. Many others are frightened that, if they overstay their permits, they will not be permitted re-entry. For this reason, Hotline has again begun obtaining individual restraining orders for people. 
There is no guarantee that the High Court decision on November 29 will include spouses and children not physically present when the decision is made. Palestinian families thus not only face their immediate separation for another year, but the possible destruction of their family lives.