Child Registration in the OPT Population Registry
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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 breaches the Oslo Accords agreement and by requiring the child's actual presence in the OPT during registration. Israel thus effectively controls registration, given that minors, with the exception of children under 5, must receive visitor permits from Israel in order to enter the West Bank and Gaza.
Whenever it chooses to do so – as it did for five years beginning in November 2000 – Israel freezes all residency related processes, including granting visitor permits for the purpose child-registration, and in so doing, it deprives thousands of Palestinians of their right to residency in their country.
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