On May 19, 2020, HaMoked wrote to the Israeli military demanding that Palestinians in their sixth decade – women aged 50 and up and men aged 55 and up – be allowed to enter the Seam Zone without special permits. The Seam Zone is the military’s term for the West Bank areas trapped between the illegally-built Separation Barrier and the Green Line (the pre-1967 armistice line between Israel and the West Bank). This demand comes after new military regulations further restrict Palestinians’ access to their lands in these areas; under new regulations for the “Permit Regime in the Seam Zone,” many Palestinians who have proprietary ties to farmlands trapped beyond the Separation Barrier no longer receive entry permits to access their plots, and those who receive permits are generally
limited to 40 entries per year. HaMoked clarified that under the case law of the High Court of Justice (
HCJ 9961/03), the military is obligated to minimize as much as possible the permits regime’s severe harm to the rights of Palestinians.
HaMoked also stressed the absurdity and unreasonableness of the existing state of affairs: Palestinians in this age group are allowed to enter Israel freely, without needing a permit – as it was determined that this poses no security threat – whereas access to their own lands, inside their homeland, is severely restricted.
