The Israeli cabinet approved a bill on Sunday that would again ban Palestinians married to Israeli citizens from living with their spouses in the occupation state, Israeli media reported.
The bill, commonly referred to as ‘Citizenship Law’, was submitted by extreme right-wing Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked. months after an earlier ban expired following a government coalition fight.
#Israel's Interior Minister Ayelet #Shaked introduces legislation to revive the controversial citizenship law that bars #Palestinians from receiving residency after marrying Israelis
'The way it looks now, it seems there is no majority ,' @arik3000 say — with @AllisonKSommer. pic.twitter.com/AAdTWKKYHq
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) January 9, 2022
Nine ministers voted in favor of the bill. Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing Meretz party voted against it, while Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai of the center-left Labor Party abstained.
Shaked told cabinet colleagues that if the bill is not passed, Israel should find another solution.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian families will be affected by such a law.
Around 12,700 Palestinians married to Israeli citizens live in Israel with temporary documentation, and are required to renew their fragile status in the country regularly.
Opinion | Ayelet Shaked is endangering human rights. Zvi Bar'el on Israel's Citizenship Law: an ultranationalist and racist law that the Interior Minister continues to enforce although it's no longer on the books https://t.co/KdGQusqlnt
— HaMoked (@HaMokedRights) January 6, 2022
“Israel’s demographic war on Palestinians is likely to intensify in the future,” Palestinian journalist and editor of The Palestine Chronicle Ramzy Baroud wrote in a recent article.
“As Israel continues to experiment with controlling the Palestinian population, it would be shameful if the international community continued to remain silent,” Baroud added.
(The Palestine Chronicle, MEMO, Social Media)
