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PA: Israel’s ban on family reunification ‘the worst persecution’ against Palestinians

June 19, 2021 at 1:07 pm

Israeli security forces try to detain a Palestinian woman in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where looming evictions of Palestinian families have fuelled anger, on May 15, 2021 [EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images]

The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Friday slammed the Israeli ban on family reunification as “the worst persecution” practiced by Israel against the Palestinians.

In a statement issued by the PA’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, the PA stated: “This law is clear proof that Israel is a state of apartheid, mainly because it separates members of Palestinian families from one another.”

Family reunification in Israel is a law enacted by the Israeli Knesset in 2002. It prevents Palestinian citizens in Israel from requesting citizenship for their spouses living in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or abroad.

Read: Israel seeks extension to law banning Palestinian family reunification

Israel claims that this ban is being imposed as part of security measures, but Palestinians assert that it is racist and an attempt by Israel to reduce the number of Palestinian citizens.

“This law is a form of ethnic cleansing that the Israeli occupation has been practicing against the Palestinians for a long time,” according to the PA.

It added: “The reunification of Palestinian families is a right guaranteed by international law and conventions, but Israel is usurping this right.”

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