As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, many questions have arisen regarding the entry to and exit from the West Bank of foreigner nationals (neither Israeli citizens nor Palestinian I.D. holders), as well as their residence in the West Bank.

Our office represents many internationals living in the West Bank, and on March 24, 2020, we contacted Israel’s Civil Administration and the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) with several demands. We demanded that visas and visitor permits held by internationals be renewed automatically until the end of the Corona state of emergency and that internationals with expired visas or permits not be classified as persons “residing illegally” in the West Bank.  We also demanded that internationals requesting to exit or enter the West Bank be permitted to do so via Israeli border crossings, including the Ben Gurion Airport, and that such crossings not be viewed as a violation of their visa terms as their visas are restricted to the “West Bank Only.”

On March 31, 2020, COGAT replied to our inquiry, setting out the following guidelines:

  1. An international who resided legally in the West Bank until March 12, 2020 and whose visa expired during the current period will have his/her visa automatically extended until June 30, 2020 (in the event that the guidelines for a state of emergency continue, the period will be updated accordingly). An international who holds a visitor’s permit valid until March 12, 2020 will not be considered to be illegally residing in the West Bank until June 30, 2020.
  2. An international carrying a “West Bank Only” visa who enters Israel for purposes of exiting the country via Ben Gurion Airport during this period will not be considered to be breaching the terms of his/her visa. COGAT added that the international must also act in accordance with the obligatory emergency guidelines concerning movement through Israel, travel to Ben Gurion Airport and policies regarding flights abroad.
  3. At the present time, entry into Israel of internationals is not possible, except in exceptional circumstances. The international must submit an application to the Israeli representation abroad, which will be examined scrupulously. If entry into Israel is approved, entry into the West Bank will also be allowed, so long as there are no restrictions from the Palestinian Authority.

COGAT emphasized that the guidelines are subject to change in accordance with future guidelines and updates issued by Israel’s Ministry of Health or the Israeli government.

Our office will continue to track the implementation of COGAT’s new guidelines and will petition COGAT again if necessary.

You are welcome to contact the Law Offices of Bechor & Ben-Hillel with any questions regarding the guidelines.

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