Beyond the Clickbait, Israel’s New (and Old) Visa Procedures Reveal a Cruel Reality for Palestinians

Resource

In this episode of FMEP’s Occupied Thoughts podcast, Jessica Montell, Executive Director of the Israeli human rights organization HaMoked, joins FMEP’s Lara Friedman to discuss the latest version of Israel’s new  procedures — published, updated, and due to be implemented on October 20, 2022 — governing all entry of foreigners solely to the West Bank. As Hamoked has noted in its September 14, 2022 analysis of the new regulations, this new version includes a few substantive changes, but “most of the flaws remain and some even exacerbated.” Hamoked further notes: “the new procedure is highly restrictive and needlessly hampers the entry of foreign passport holders to the oPt and their ability to stay there without interruption….All this, without any legal basis or reasonable grounds, and contrary to Israel’s obligation to act for the benefit of the protected population living under occupation.”

Occupied Thoughts by FMEP · Beyond the Clickbait, Israel’s New (and Old) Visa Procedures Reveal a Cruel Reality for Palestinians

Subscribe to “Occupied Thoughts” on iTunes | Soundcloud |Spotify

Recorded September 23, 2022

Watch this conversation on YouTube

Amy Cohen serves as the Director of International Relations and Advocacy for Ir Ami

Resource mentioned in this podcast: Jessica’s 6/10/22 podcast with Americans for Peace Now, examining in detail the earlier version of the entry regulations.

Jessica Montell is executive director of HaMoked, the Center for Defence of the Individual.  She has been a leading figure in Israeli civil society for two decades. For thirteen years she headed the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. She left B’Tselem in 2014 and was founding director of SISO: Save Israel, Stop the Occupation, an Israel-Diaspora partnership to build collective action for the 50th year of the Israeli occupation. In 2011, Ms. Montell was selected by Ha’aretz as one of “the year’s 10 most influential Anglo immigrants.” In 2013, the UK-based Action on Armed Violence selected Jessica as one of the 100 most influential people working to make the world a safer place. Ms. Montell is a frequent speaker and commentator on human rights, international humanitarian law and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. @JessicaMontell.

Lara Friedman is the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. With more than 25 years working in the Middle East foreign policy arena, Lara is a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular expertise on the Israeli-Arab conflict, Israeli settlements, Jerusalem, and the role of the U.S. Congress. Prior to joining FMEP, Lara was the Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now, and before that she was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, serving in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunis and Beirut. She tweets @LaraFriedmanDC.