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The first reading passed by a vote of
47-28,
with 5 abstentions. If and when it passes its
second
and third readings, it will only be in
effect for one year.
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz, who brought the
bill to
the house, said he was not happy about
bringing the bill to
promulgation and "it would
be best if the bill never made it to
the law
books, because an enlightened an humane society
should
allow reunification of families."
He added, however, that
"there is no choice but
to pass the law because during the
intifada
there has been growing involvement in terrorism
of
Palestinians who are residents of the
territories and have
Israeli ID cards as a
result of family reunification or
marriage,
exploiting their status as Israelis to move
freely
between Israel and the territories."
According to the bill,
the interior minister
would be authorized to grant a
limited
residency status to Palestinians from the
territories
working or seeking medical
treatment inside Israel. The interior
minister
would also be authorized to grant citizenship
or
residency status to a Palestinian from the
territories if the
minister is convinced that
said individual identifies with Israel
and its
goals.
Poraz claimed the proposed law would not
prevent
the reunification of families split between
Israel and
the Palestinian territories, but
would prevent Palestinians from
moving to live
inside Israel.
Three weeks ago, the
Justice Ministry was
reported to be working on another
amendment
tothe Citizenship Law that would disallow
the
automatic granting of citizenship to
childrenwith one
Palestinian parent from the
territories. This amendment,
initiated by
PrimeMinister Ariel Sharon and senior figures
in
the security establishment, has won the
support of Attorney
General Elyakim Rubinstein.
MKs and Israel Association
for Civil Rights
leveled harsh criticism at the bill. Left
wing
and Arab MKs were infuriated by the bill.
Meretz MK
Zehava Gal-On (Meretz) noted the
"racist and discriminatory bill
divides
individuals on an ethnic basis."
MK Ahmed Tibi
(Hadash-Ta'al) said the bill is
unethical because it regards to
cross-Green
Line marriages as ticking bombs that need to
be
prevented. MK Issam Makhoul (Hadash-Ta'al)
called the
proposed law "anti-democratic, and
anti-human" and said that it
flies in the face
of international conventions. MK Wasil
Taha
(Balad) contended that a law that would not
allow
individuals to freely choose their
marriage partners is
reminiscent of German's
World War II-era Nuremberg Laws.
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