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On July 6, 2021, the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (temporary order) 5763-2003, which prohibited authorization of Palestinians’ status in Israel, expired. The law tore many families apart, while many others who met its exceptions have been stuck in never-ending proceedings for years, holding temporary permits without stability or social rights.
Upon the law’s expiration, ACRI appealed to the Ministry of the Interior demanding that the standard procedures for being granted status in Israel, be applied to all those whom the law harmed. In the meantime, those who could not partake in the proceedings should be permitted to do so, and those who would have been entitled, were it not for the law, should be upgraded. Permanent status, whether residency or citizenship, should also be granted to those who were supposed to complete the proceedings for designation of a legal status. Yet Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, instructed Population and Immigration Authority officials to continue processing applications in accordance with the provisions of the expired law.
Against this backdrop, on September 14, 2021, we filed a petition with the Jerusalem District Court, in collaboration with HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, and several victims of the law. In the petition, we demanded that the standard procedures for authorizing status be applied to the applicants, and claimed that under the current legal circumstances, the Ministry and the Authority are unauthorized to continue discriminating against Palestinians seeking status and their families, violating their right to family life.
The petition noted the fact that many could not authorize their status at all, which tore families apart. Others who received temporary permits to stay in Israel with their families, are required to renew them each year through an exhausting procedure, and are not entitled to basic rights. They receive health insurance under expensive and discriminatory conditions, are not entitled to benefits from the National Insurance Institute of Israel, welfare services, or housing and legal aid. They are entirely prohibited from driving in Israel, and cannot obtain professional licenses that are contingent on permanent residency or citizenship (for example, in the field of health). During an economic crisis such as the one sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, they are particularly vulnerable to hardship and economic decline.
A request for an interim order was submitted along with the petition, to order the Ministry of the Interior to immediately process Palestinians’ applications in accordance with the standard procedures that apply to all applicants seeking status. After the district court did not accede to the request, on November 17, 2021, the organizations submitted a request for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. They noted that continuing to uphold this abusive policy, for months on end, sending thousands of people harmed by the Minister's directive to conduct individual legal proceedings before various courts until the matter is resolved, is unacceptable.
The organizations further claimed that refraining from issuing an interim injunction legitimizes the continuation of the Interior Minister's policy, which has degraded Israeli constitutional law decades backwards. General discretion is insufficient in the face of a sweeping fatal blow to basic constitutional rights. Per constitutional law, a basic condition for the violation of human rights entails clear and explicit legal authorization. Upon the expiration of the Citizenship Law, such authorization no longer exists, such that an order must be issued against the illegal guidelines.
In response to the request for permission to appeal, the Ministry of the Interior claimed that there is no place for an interim order, partially due to the fact that new procedures would be issued in the coming days. The court ordered the Ministry of the Interior to update the new procedures by January 3, 2022.
On January 11, 2022, the organizations’ request for permission to submit an appeal was accepted, on the grounds that the state may not continue to act as if the Citizenship Law were in effect, and must solely operate within the framework of existing laws. The court did not address the question of how to process applications for the legal status of Palestinian spouses, returning the hearing on the matter to the district court.
After a week passed with no changes, on January 18, 2022, we filed a motion for contempt of court order. In response to the motion, the Ministry of the Interior presented two procedures for submitting applications to regulate the status of family members and submit requests on humanitarian grounds. In the requests, there is no genuine change in policy, and the proceedings will progress in the Court of Administrative Affairs.