| Punished Twice - Punished Collectively The AIC has documented the cases of nine Jerusalem residents who were arrested for their political activities. Most of the families have remained living in Jerusalem, although the women can do so only illegally.
- All of the families suffer economic hardships and from a permanent feeling of insecurity.
- All but one of them have applied at least once for family reunification for their wives.
- All their applications have been refused by the Jerusalem Interior Ministry.
- Three out of nine report that they were told by the Interior Ministry clerks that their applications were
refused because of “security reasons”.
- Two out of nine were told they would be granted family reunification it they paid between US $ 2,000 -
6,000 to a “mediator”.
- One of them was told at the Interior Ministry that his request would be granted if he applied an
additional time. After he did so, his application was refused. Ata Qamari - ID# 080030570; married to Rihab Ferraj from Deheishe Refugee Camp/West Bank; three children aged eight, five, and two. Two applications for family reunification were refused.
Mahmoud Salamat - ID# 080264948; married to Rabiha Shamroukh from Deheishe Refugee Camp; two children aged six and four. Two applications for family reunification were refused.
Samir Abu Diab - ID# 08021772; married to Afaf from Hebron; three children, two in pre-school and one infant. Four applications for family reunification were refused.
Ribhi Abu Humous - ID# 080559008; married to Hijar Shamasra from Katana/Ramallah; one son. One application for family reunification was refused.
Amin el-Ghoul - ID# 080454473; married to Majda Abu Harthiyeh from Bethlehem; three children. Two applications for family reunification were refused.
Eyad Ahmad Obeidi - ID# 08062027; married to Hadil Makdadi from Ramallah; two children aged one and three. Two applications for family reunification were refused.
Walid Salem - ID# 08069281; married to Iman Al-Ratrut from Nablus; two sons aged five. He never received an answer to his application submitted in 1992.
Yussuf Moussa Kanebi - married to Sharifa Salah Ad-Din from Hizme/West Bank; one daughter, Mr. Kanebi, seeing how other applications for family reunification by ex-political prisoners have been refused, has not bothered to apply.
Khaled Amouri - ID# 080071822; married to Arwa Rajabi from Hebron; one daughter. Khaled was sentenced to life imprisonment, and the Interior Ministry refused to accept an application on his behalf by his wife. Ultimately, the approval or the refusal of every application for family reunification is at the complete discretion of the Minister of Interior. The minister is under no obligation to approve any application, nor to give a reason for an application’s denial. Hence, there are no official written documents stating that these men’s applications have been refused for “security reasons”. However, unofficial and verbal statements, and Israel’s discriminatory treatment of Palestinian political prisoners in general, strongly suggest that the ultimate reason for the refusal of family reunification is the men’s political activism and former imprisonment. Even if the Interior Ministry were to write “security reasons” on the denied applications, it is hard to believe that their explanation would hold up in any worthwhile court of law; after all, what is the connection between a family living together and state security? |
