A/HRC/31/44 B. Israeli restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians 1. Administrative measures restricting freedom of movement 12. Palestinians’ freedom of movement is restricted through a complex and multilayered system of administrative, bureaucratic and physical constraints that permeate almost all facets of everyday life. 13. Although the Ministry of the Interior of the State of Palestine issues identity cards for Palestinians on the basis of the Palestinian population registry, Israel retains the power to approve or reject all changes of address and permanent residency applications. In 2000, with the outbreak of the second intifada, Israel suspended updates to the register. Attempts to resolve the large backlog of applications between 2007 and 2009, and again in 2011, 8 had limited impact (see A/68/502, para. 9). 14. The permit regime allows Israeli authorities to limit and control Palestinians’ movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territory beyond their immediate residential area. This permit regime dates back to the cancellation by Israel, during the first intifada, of the “general exit permit”, which had allowed Palestinians to move freely between Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.9 Since then, Palestinian residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territory are required to have individual permits to enter Israel and East Jerusalem. Following the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000, Israel further tightened movement restrictions, requiring Palestinians to obtain permits to cross between Gaza and the West Bank.10 Permits are also required to enter and remain in large areas inside the West Bank, including the so-called “seam zone”.11 15. The requirements for obtaining a permit are set out in protocols and procedures issued by the Israeli authorities, most of which have not been made public until recently. Following a series of freedom of information petitions filed by the Israeli NGO Gisha, several procedures have been posted on the website of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories Unit (COGAT) but a number remain unavailable to the public. 12 Moreover, of those published, only some have been translated into Arabic. As a result, both the procedures and the criteria by which applications are evaluated remain unclear to many applicants, most of whom read and understand Arabic. 13 16. During the reporting period, COGAT eased requirements for selected groups, including by authorizing men over the age of 55 and women over the age of 50 from the West Bank to enter East Jerusalem or Israel without a permit. 14 In June, for the first time since the second intifada broke out in 2000, the Israeli authorities reportedly allowed some 100 Palestinian doctors from the West Bank to drive their cars into East Jerusalem and Israel.15 Movement restrictions were also eased during Ramadan when exceptions for 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 4 See www.pmo.gov.il/English/MediaCenter/Events/Pages/eventblair040211.aspx. B’Tselem and HaMoked, One Big Prison: Freedom of Movement to and from the Gaza Strip on the Eve of the Disengagement Plan, 2005, p. 9. Ibid. B’Tselem, Ground to a Halt: Denial of Palestinians’ Freedom of Movement in the West Bank (2007), pp. 24-25. The “seam zone” is the section of Palestinian land located between the wall and the 1949 armistice line that was declared “closed” following construction of the wall. Gisha, “Procedures and policies”, 2015. Available from www.gisha.org/legal/procedures-andprotocols. Ibid. COGAT, “Status of permits for the entry into Israel of Palestinians, for overseas departures and the crossing points between Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip” (November 2015). Y-Net News, “Israel increases relief measures to Palestinians in the West Bank,” June 14, 2015.