Article74 Magazine
| Data on Applications for Family Reunification in Jerusalem The following data was provided by the Ministry, in partial response to the petitioner’s demands: The number of applications submitted by residents of East Jerusalem since 1967 - - The total number of family reunification applications submitted in East Jerusalem (including spouses and other relatives) for special humanitarian reasons: 1991: 1054 applications - The total number of family reunification applications submitted by permanent residents and citizens living in East Jerusalem for spouses: 1993: 650 it should be noted that in March 1994, the then prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, decided on a new policy according to which permanent residency status (family reunification) would be granted to spouses of East Jerusalem residents without regard to the previously existing distinctions according to which applications were granted only when it was the husband applying on behalf of his wife, or when it was the wife applying on behalf of her husband and she was a citizen and not merely a permanent resident. After this decision, there was a sharp rise in the number of applications on behalf of spouses as well as in the number of acceptances. The number of applications in East Jerusalem that were accepted (out of the total accumulation of applications since 1967 - not out the applications submitted in the given year): 1993: 417 wives and 36 husbands; Other relatives who were granted permanent resident status for exceptional humanitarian reasons are not included in the above count. No data concerning the number of applications that were rejected was provided by the Interior Ministry. |
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