Ban on residency to Palestinians married to Israelis extended

The Israeli parliament has approved the extension of a ban on granting residency to Palestinians or Arabs married to Israeli women. Israeli media outlets have reported that parliamentarians from the Kadima, Likud and Shas Parties, which form part of the ruling coalition, voted in favour of a one-year extension on the ban.

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Shas member, Nissim Zeev, explained why his party had supported the extension of the decision saying, “Some Arabs and Palestinians who acquired Israeli citizenship through marriage to Israelis were involved in terrorist attacks.”
 
Sources have quoted the head of the Knesset’s Constitution Law and Judiciary Committee, David Rotem, as saying that acquiring Israeli citizenship was not a right that should be taken for granted.
 
The decision not to give Israeli citizenship or residency inside the Green Line to Palestinians or Arabs married to Israeli spouses was first issued as a temporary ruling in 2003.