I was recently interviewed by a journalist from abroad about the likely policies of the new government in Israel. Among other topics, I mentioned the issues of East Jerusalem, land confiscation and Palestinian residency rights in the city. “So, do you expect the new government to make any changes in residency policies concerning Palestinians?” asked the journalist. I hesitated for a few seconds, and then answered: “No change whatsoever, for the residency issue is one of the main elements in the political consensus shared by all Zionist governments, whether led by Likud, Labor or even Meretz.”  
Zionist residency policy is based on the concept of “demographic danger,” i.e. the constant fear that despite mass expulsions, deportations and transfer, the Palestinians will again become a majority in Palestine, or at least a substantial minority in the Jewish state. Zionism is the project of building a Jewish state in Palestine, not a bi-national state; not a society where a colonialist minority exploits the indigenous population, but, as much as possible, a society based on ethnic homogeneity. Thus, ethnic cleansing is a basic Zionist principle and policy.  
As a derivative of this basic policy, a mass of laws and regulations aimed at reducing the number of “foreign residents,” not only inside the limits of the Jewish state, but in every territory under its control, for they might in the future become part of the State of Israel. Even the most liberal Zionists necessarily support the Israeli Law of Return, which applies to every Jew in the world, while rejecting the Palestinian right of return. Israel’s blatant failure to honor that provision of the Declaration of Principles (Oslo I) which explicitly recognizes the right of 1967 “displaced” Palestinians to come back is another expression of this policy, as are all the laws and regulations hindering Palestinian family reunification.  
The latest decision to step up ID card confiscations in cases where the holders allegedly have a “center of life” outside Jerusalem was taken by the previous Labor-Meretz government, not by the Likud. The decision represents the Zionist consensus concerning Palestinian residency in Israel and in territories under Israeli control - for according to Zionism, Palestine belongs to the Jewish people, whereas the Palestinians are “foreigners” in their own homeland. All the Zionist laws, regulations and policies with regard to residency are designed to make these axioms clear to everyone. [Michael Warshawski, Director, AIC]