New limits on foreign lecturers in Palestine
The Israeli decision makes it difficult for foreign lecturers and students to arrive at Palestinian universities in the occupied West Bank.
Jerusalem24 – The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, reported today, Tuesday, that Israel will place new procedures and limitations concerning hiring lecturers from abroad to teach in Palestinian universities in the West Bank, as well as accepting students from different countries to study.
According to the newspaper, Israel will allow Palestinian universities to hire lecturers from abroad only if they will teach in the required fields and in which there is a shortage of educational staff. This will be done according to certain conditions, including that the lecturers and researchers are distinguished with at least a doctorate.
The professors will have to apply through Israeli consulates in the applicant’s country of origin. Israel has determined that only 100 foreign lecturers will be given visas.
The newspaper pointed out that these detailed provisions and others related to the categories of foreign nationals seeking to enter and reside in the West Bank are included in the permanent application files of the Israeli army, which were published last month and will enter into force next May.
According to the newspaper, the file titled “Procedures for Entry and Residence of Migrants in the West Bank” also limits the quota of the number of foreign students who will be allowed in Palestinian universities to 150. Each student will have to interview the Israeli representative office in their home country.
The newspaper pointed out that this new law, which was supposed to be a pilot for two years, was published after 15 years during which Israel gradually tightened its restrictions on the entry of citizens of countries friendly to Palestinians. It also targets the spouses of Palestinian residents and businessmen, lecturers, and students. This emphasis has been the subject of dozens of individual petitions to the Israeli Supreme Court over the years.
The newspaper says, “The hope was that the new procedure would respect the right of the Palestinians and their institutions to work according to their choice and their needs to develop economic, commercial and academic relations with other countries. In the civil and family life of Palestinians presented at the border crossing, the difficulty of their lives, and obtaining long-stay visas, which require applying several months in advance.”
The newspaper pointed out the suffering of applicants for long-stay visas, including businessmen and investors, as well as daughters and husbands, who are forced to pay exorbitant sums of money in exchange for being allowed to live in the West Bank.
