Banning of internationals and foreign passport-holding Palestinians

[idontwantaname]

In another Israeli move designed to further isolate Palestinians from the rest of the world community, it is being reported that the Israeli army will be declaring the West Bank closed to foreign nationals under the guise of "security." The rightist Israeli daily Maariv reported on this day, "According to the plan, the IDF will declare the Judea and Samaria closed to foreign nationals. Denying entry to ... activists has been defined as prevention of political subversion and involvement of members of the movement in acts of terrorism, and limitation of friction with Jewish settlers."



11 July 2006 — Israel has long been denying entry to scores of internationals (including foreign passport-holding Palestinians) -- a policy that has been intensified in recent months. During April, after having lived in Ramallah for a year and a half and staying on a tourist visa that I would renew every three months, I was denied entry to the West Bank from Jordan via the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge land crossing, and given no documentation to indicate why I was being turned away. On the Jordanian side of the bridge, security officials there told me that scores of international passport-holders -- Palestinian-Americans in particular -- were being denied entry into the West Bank. I was again denied entry a month and a half later at Ben Gurion Airport.


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