Israeli report reveals demographic policy in Gaza
A report by two Israeli human rights organizations reveals that Israeli policy regarding the movement of Palestinians is motivated by political, not security, concerns.
One of the key obstacles to permanent Israeli control of the West Bank is the presence of Palestinians in it. Unable to physically move them or have them leave voluntarily, Israel has over the years deployed an administrative process that is called "transfer." The basic foundation of this racist policy is to have administrative policies that "encourage" Palestinians to voluntarily leave and make it very difficult for them to return.
Until the Palestinian National Authority was established in 1993, Israelis used a permit system to carry out this policy. When one left for work or school, a time-based permit was issued. If one overstayed one's permit, one risked forfeit of the right to return. Now that the Palestinian government issues passports, this practice has lost some of its impact. However, it still applies and as a result continues to subject Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, whose city residency can be revoked after an absence of more than seven years. The demographic reason behind the Israeli "transfer" policy is very clear, although rarely publicly declared. Right-wing Israeli minister Rahavam Zeeve is the exception, as he publicly pronounced his support for transfer.
This politically motivated Israeli policy to gradually reduce the number of Palestinians in the West Bank has been exposed in terms of movement of people from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip. A joint report by two Israeli human rights organizations details how this demographic policy is carried out. B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, and Hamoked, the Center for the Defence of the Individual, in January issued a report titled “So near and yet so far: Implications of Israeli-Imposed Seclusion of [the] Gaza Strip on Palestinians’ Right to Family Life.”
This joint report takes the Israeli court to task for facilitating the Israeli policy that is based on this demographic policy aimed at gradually empting the West Bank of its Palestinian residents. How does Israel use demographics in its Gaza policy?
