Law limiting family reunification may be extended

The Cabinet will discuss a proposal to extend a law limiting Palestinian family reunification by another year, Israel Radio reported Thursday.

The proposal, presented by Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar, is based on a recent Shin Bet assessment that letting Gazans live in Israel with Israeli family members might endanger the security of the state and its citizens. The assessment noted that Gaza was still a hotbed for terror activity.

Family reunification in Israel typically involves an Israeli citizen requesting citizenship for his or her non-Israeli spouse.

Many unification applications in Israel are submitted by Israeli Arabs on behalf of a Palestinian spouse living in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.

Since the breakout of the second Intifada, reunification for Palestinians and Israeli Arabs has been greatly limited. In 2003, the Israeli government passed a temporary order which denies the granting of citizenship or residency to Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.

The order specified that the reasoning behind the limitations was due to an increase of Israeli Arabs involved in terrorist activities. According to a Shin Bet report from 2006, about 40% of those involved in terrorism among Israeli Arabs were Palestinians holding Israeli identity cards or residency permits acquired by the process of family reunification.

The temporary order suspending the measure has been extended a number of times and remains in force.