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In Jerusalem… Palestinian women face Israeli discrimination based on their ID

Jerusalem24 – Israeli occupation authorities in Jerusalem continue to enforce punitive and discriminatory measures against Palestinians and violate their human rights. These include house arrest of minors, restrictions on freedom of movement, ID revocation, forced displacement, home demolitions, and rejection of family reunification applications, all of which have a disproportionate impact on women, who endure the most responsibility in caring for the family.

The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) and Women Center for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC) cooperated on a factsheet entitled “Family rights for Jerusalemite women under discriminatory Israeli policies.” The report concluded that women with Palestinian IDs who are married to Jerusalemite ID holders are faced with numerous measures that restrict their movement, thus preventing them from exercising normal lives.

The factsheet based its findings on eighteen testimonies that were collected, documented, and approved after a selection and review process, documenting women’s issues from various areas in Jerusalem and its suburbs. Fifteen of the women live in Jerusalem neighborhoods and towns, including Ras Al Amoud, Jabal Mukabber, Beit Hanina, Silwan, Sur Baher, Wadi Joz, and Sawahra Sharqiya. There were also two women from Beersheba and one woman who lives in Jordan and who has been barred entry into Palestine.

The factsheet concluded that 70% of women who request legal and social services in Jerusalem in the context of domestic violence have different IDs than their husbands, which results in increased violence against them. Neither are they able to secure court orders in their favor nor are they able to leave their husbands since they risk losing their children, which leaves them with only one option: to remain in a violent household.

Over 40,000 family reunifications in Jerusalem have been rejected since the ratification of the ‘Citizenship Law” of 2003. According to the factsheet, this is a racist discriminatory law in violation of Article 9 (1) of CEDAW. The report adds that this law is aimed at preventing residency or granting citizenship to any person from the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 who is married to a Palestinian citizen with a Jerusalem ID or Israeli citizenship, thereby barring Palestinians from entering Jerusalem or areas inside the Green Line.

Listen to the full interview with Randa Siniora, General Director of WCLAC, on Vibes.

 

Nadeen Alshaer

Alshaer is a Palestinian journalist, a Birzeit University graduate with a B.A. in TV and Radio Broadcasting Journalism. Alshaer has 6 years of experience in journalism. She currently works as a reporter, editor and presenter/producer for PBC-Palestine TV and Jerusalem24 radio. She’s a UN and Kelley School of Business alumna.

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