Dear [First Name שם פרטי]

Israelis go to the polls again next week, but one thing is already clear: regardless of the election results, the next government will maintain the occupation and oppression of the Palestinians. This applies also to East Jerusalem Palestinians, most of whom have the status of permanent residents of Israel pursuant to the annexation of East Jerusalem. Protecting the rights of Palestinian Jerusalemites is a priority area for HaMoked. I want to highlight some of our efforts to defend this population’s rights in the city, and the ability of families to live together in safety and dignity.

Over the years, we have managed to almost completely halt the “Quiet Deportation” policy which stripped residency from Palestinians who spent time abroad, or even just moved to the West Bank. We are leading the fight against the discriminatory Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law, which denies Palestinian family unification. Most recently we have challenged new initiatives by the Ministry of Interior to revoke Jerusalemites’ status as a punishment or for reasons of “deterrence”.

This month, we submitted formal objections to the Minister of Interior and the Knesset against a law that authorizes stripping the permanent residency status of Jerusalem Palestinians on the outrageous grounds of “breach of allegiance to the State of Israel”. We will petition the High Court of Justice on this matter if this law is not revoked. Alongside our principled legal challenge, HaMoked also represents six Palestinians whose status was revoked on these grounds, including attorney Salah Hammouri, who is at immediate risk of deportation and was recently placed in administrative detention.

Concurrently, we are fighting the Ministry of Interior’s denial of family unification as a means of collective punishment. This is a measure used against innocent people – Palestinian families who have been living together in Jerusalem for years pursuant to family unification processes – whose only “sin” is that they are distantly related to a man who perpetrated a lethal attack against Israelis. In a shameful judgment issued last month, the Appeals Tribunal upheld the Ministry of Interior’s decision to deny them status and permits, not for any wrongdoing of their own, but due to “considerations of deterrence”. And in a cheap election stunt, the Minister of Interior rushed to demand that the seven family members in question be immediately deported from Jerusalem. We filed a series of appeals against the judgment, and have obtained interim injunctions to protect the families and prevent deportation so long as the proceedings continue.   

Also last month, immediately following the shooting attack in which a soldier was killed at the Shu’afat checkpoint, we sent an urgent letter calling on Israeli authorities to lift the closure imposed on the Shu’afat refugee camp (inside Jerusalem), which left tens of thousands of people without access to vital services. This, we stressed, is another form of collective punishment.

Jerusalem Palestinians are in a unique position as an indigenous population living under occupation as well as annexation. HaMoked will remain vigilant and work to protect this vulnerable group.

All the best,

Jessica Montell
Executive Director of HaMoked