Visa Update During the Israel-Gaza War: the Israeli Civil Administration informed our Law Office that it has resumed reviewing visa extension applications. Foreign passport holders whose visas have expired recently should apply for extension until October 27, 2023
Following the breakout of the Israel-Gaza war on October 7, 2023, the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA) has stopped reviewing visa extension applications submitted by foreign passport holders, thereby preventing them from being able to continue staying in the West Bank legally. In addition, the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Occupied Territories (COGAT) has almost completely stopped reviewing West Bank entry applications submitted by foreign passport holders who are married to Palestinian ID holders, or who work, study or volunteer in the West Bank. October 17, 2023, our office demanded that both the ICA and COGAT provide solutions [...]
New military procedure set to enter into effect on October 20, 2022 illegally restricting the entry of foreign passport holders to the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Our law firm applied to the Minister of Defense and COGAT demanding to revise the procedure and its entry into effect
On September 13, 2022, our law firm applied, on behalf of Hamoked human rights organization, to the Minister of Defense, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), and the Military’s Legal Advisor of the West Bank demanding they revise the “Procedure for Entry and Residence of Foreigners in the Judea and Samaria Area" and postpone its entry into effect until they make such revisions and publish it also in Arabic. The procedure would harm thousands of families where one of the spouses is a foreign national. It would disrupt the routine functioning of education and academic institutions, and prevent many [...]
The Law Offices of Bechor & Ben-Hillel petition the High Court of Justice to repeal or amend the military’s new policy on entry and residence of foreigners in the West Bank
The Law Offices of Bechor & Ben-Hillel petitioned the High Court of Justice to repeal or amend the "Policy on Entry and Residence of Foreigners in Judea and Samaria" published by Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (“COGAT”), a unit of the Israeli Defense Ministry. The policy purports to regulate all issues regarding the entry into the West Bank, stay and permanent residence of citizens of countries maintaining diplomatic relations with Israel. The 97-page policy replaces the current "Policy for Foreigners Entering the Territories of Judea and Samaria," set to expire on July 3, 2022. Our office previously [...]
Approximately 700 Individuals Will Receive Palestinian IDs. Israel Approves a Meager Amount of Family Unification Applications in the West Bank, among whom are Several Clients of the Law Offices of Bechor & Ben-Hillel.
Our offices are greatly disappointed by the meager number of Palestinian ID cards that Israel agreed to issue as part of an agreement recently reached with the Palestinian Authority. Israel has agreed to approve only 700 applications for family unification from a group of tens of thousands of applications currently pending. As part of a political gesture to the Palestinian Authority, Israel will also approve requests to register Palestinians who have been living in the West Bank for many years without legal status, where the applicants’ parents had applied for their registration after they turned 16. In addition, Israel agreed [...]
Israel and the Palestinian Authority announce that 5,000 undocumented spouses of Palestinians will receive Palestinian IDs
Following a meeting held between Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, an agreement was reached to issue 5,000 Palestinian IDs (granting status of permanent resident in the oPt) to those spouses of Palestinians holding foreign passports. In addition, Israel agreed that Palestinians living in the West Bank whose registered addresses were in Gaza would be allowed to officially change their addresses to the West Bank, thereby removing the threat of arbitrary deportation to Gaza. The Palestinian Authority simultaneously announced that Palestinians and their spouses who hold foreign passports and are currently residing in the oPt may contact the [...]
Permanent residency and Family Unification in the West Bank: After the intervention of the Law Offices of Bechor & Ben-Hillel, Israel grants Palestinian ID cards to adult-age children of Palestinian who had lived their entire lives without legal status
The Law Offices of Bechor & Ben-Hillel recently petitioned the Civil Administration in the occupied Palestinian territories to grant permanent residency status to four children of a Palestinian West Bank mother. Their mother had been previously married to a Palestinian (who since passed away), and together they had five children. According to the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority may register all children in the Population Registry, whether born in the oPt or born abroad, if the children were under age 16 at the time of the application for registration and if at least one parent was Palestinian. However, in reality, [...]
