Israel is building a separation wall deep inside the occupied territory. In so doing Israel is contravening the principals of international law and breaching its authority as a temporary custodian. Palestinian land is being trapped in an area designated as the "seam zone" – isolated from both the State of Israel and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Since Israel began erecting the wall, the military has been imposing a draconian permit regime, under which, inter alia, every Palestinian who lives inside the seam zone or seeks to enter it is required to obtain a spec...

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In 1967, with the onset of the occupation, Israel held a census in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Ever since, with the exception of children under 16, a person who is not listed in the population registry is able, allegedly, to acquire residency status only through the family-unification procedure. Although under the Oslo Accords the powers to administer the population registry in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) were officially transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA), in fact, in all but exceptional cases, Israel prevents the unification of families in the OPT...

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"In order to maintain the territorial integrity of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a single territorial unit, and to promote their economic growth and the demographic and geographical links between them, both sides shall implement the provisions of this Annex, while respecting and preserving without obstacles, normal and smooth movement of people, vehicles, and goods within the West Bank, and between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."(The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Annex I, Article I [2])Despite being physically separate, the Wes...

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Since 1967, Israel has been demolishing the homes of Palestinians as part of its penal policy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The military, relying on Regulation 119 of the Defense (Emergency) Regulations of the British Mandate, which grants broad discretionary powers, imposes this excessive and irrevocable punishment under an administrative decision, without trial or any other judicial proceedings. Concurrently, the military continues to demolish homes on various administrative claims and to implement its "razing" policy of uprooting fields and groves and demolishi...

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Ever since Israel’s annexation of both the territory and the people of East Jerusalem, the laws and policies governing the city’s Palestinian population have been in a constant state of flux. The ever-changing policies and practices surrounding family unification, revocation of residency, and child registration create unseen barriers to everyday life for Palestinian permanent residents in Jerusalem.Click on timeline items for further information on the history and developments in laws, policies, and practices, including links to court documents, legislation, updates, and analyses from HaM...

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With the onset of the occupation in 1967, Israel conducted a census in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinians who were present in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) were recorded as permanent residents in the population registry. Since then, Israel has allowed only the registration of minors under the age of 16 who have at least one parent who is an OPT resident. In 1995, as part of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority was given exclusive powers to enter children under the age of 16, including those born abroad, in the population registry. In reality, Israel grossly brea...

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