By a 6-5 vote, Israel’s Supreme Court voted on Jan. 11 to uphold a law that prevents Palestinians married to Israeli Arabs from receiving Israeli citizenship or residency.
The majority opinion justices wrote in their ruling on the citizenship law that they recognize the constitutional right for family reunification, but said that the reunification does not have to occur inside Israel.
Under the citizenship law, passed in 2003, a West Bank Palestinian may only obtain citizenship if he can prove that he identifies with the State of Israel or has made a contribution to Israel’s security. A Palestinian husband must be at least 36 or a Palestinian wife must be at least 26 for family reunification, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz.
“It is a dark day for the protection of human rights and for the Israeli High Court of Justice,” attorneys Dan Yakir and Oded Feller, from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, said in a statement.
Since 1993, more than 100,000 Palestinians have received permission to live in Israel, according to Ha’aretz. — jta