Human Rights Watch: New Israeli restrictions will turn West Bank into ‘another Gaza’

Human Rights Watch charge that new Israeli rules for foreigners entering the West Bank risked turning the territory into “another Gaza,” cutting residents off from the outside world.

The regulations, which have faced condemnation from the European Union and the United States, have also been clouded by uncertainty.

Israeli has said the rules, which came into force in October, are aimed at clarifying the procedures surrounding West Bank entry and are being implemented on a two-year trial basis.

They were also revised last year amid widespread criticism.

Despite those revisions, HRW says the measures “threaten to further isolate Palestinians from loved ones and global civil society.”

“By making it harder for people to spend time in the West Bank, Israel is taking yet another step toward turning the West Bank into another Gaza, where two million Palestinians have lived virtually sealed off from the outside world for over 15 years,” HRW’s Eric Goldstein says.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007 when the Hamas terror group seized control in a bid to stop the import of weapons.

Some of the most controversial new West Bank access measures relate to foreigners seeking to join their Palestinian spouse.

Israel, under the new rules, can reject such family reunification claims if they violate “the policy of the political echelon.”