Israel Matzav

Family Reunification for Terrorists

I have posted several times on this blog regarding the Israeli Supreme Court and its leftist outlook on the world. The court may be about to endanger all Israelis yet again.

Today, the court held what it said would be its final hearing regarding a series of cases in which 'Palestinians' have requested 'family reunification.' Under 'family reunification,' a 'Palestinian' from Judea and Samaria who marries a 'Palestinian' from within the green line, may ask to be 'reunited' with their spouse - almost inevitably within the Israeli green line. 'Reunification' also means that the spouse - usually the male - who originates from Judea and Samaria is entitled to get a blue Israeli identity card, which allows unrestricted travel. Let's pick this story up from the JPost:

Until 2002, Palestinians who married Israelis were allowed to obtain Israeli citizenship or residency status in accordance with a five-year procedure. During those five years, they were allowed to live in Israel but had to renew their request to remain in Israel each year. Each time, the authorities checked to see that the marriage was not false and that the applicants had not become involved in security crimes.

Soon after Operation Defensive Shield, in May 2002, the cabinet passed a decision freezing the process and prohibiting any Palestinian who married an Israeli after that date from applying for official status and the right to live in Israel.

On August 6, 2003, the Knesset passed a provisional law for one year, giving legal status to the government's policy. The law was extended for two years, under growing criticism that it violated the human right to have a family and because it was racist, since it applied to Palestinians only.

Last year, the Knesset passed a new law which lifted the restrictions on Palestinians who were not in the "dangerous age," based on a statistical analysis of which categories of Palestinians was most likely to commit terrorist acts against Israel.

The law that was passed in 2005,

prohibited Palestinian men under 35 years of age, and Palestinian women under the age of 25, from living in Israel or beginning the process of obtaining Israeli citizenship or residency status, with all of the benefits entailed.

The law is necessary because,

Palestinians who obtain an Israeli identity card and the right to travel freely anywhere in the country could help terrorist organizations attack Israeli targets. She said 26 Palestinians who had received Israeli citizenship had already been involved in terrorist attacks. [Including some of our deadliest attacks. CiJ]

Let's face it folks, the law is racist. So is racial profiling at airports where - if it were done properly - the only people likely to be searched would be male Arabs between the ages of 18 and 45. But that doesn't mean that it's not necessary. Here's what the Israeli security services have to say about this law:

...

Last July, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Yuval Diskin said that, since 2000, Palestinians with reunification residency were involved in 16 suicide bomb attacks which constituted 11 percent of 142 suicide bombings.

Issued with Israeli identity cards acquired if one of their parents is an Israeli citizen, they have become attractive recruits for terror organizations operating in the West Bank and Gaza, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said. This is mainly due to their ability to travel inside Israel unrestricted, their familiarity with the local culture and the Hebrew language.

Acting on behalf of the terror organizations, they are sent to compile intelligence information in preparation for an attack, stake out a suitable site where the attack should be carried out, and transport attackers and bombs or weapons to be used in the attacks.

"They are Palestinians, they enjoy the privileges they are entitled to in the framework of the reunification program, yet they have no allegiance to Israel, and can move unhampered between Israel and the Territories to visit their relatives. This makes them an extremely attractive target for terror organizations," a source said.

Shadi Tubasi, who was recruited by Hamas in Jenin, blew up at the Matza restaurant in Haifa on March 31, 2002, killing 15 Israelis. Tubasi was granted Israeli citizenship as her mother is from the Nazareth region.

Muhammad Matsri was recruited by the Islamic Jihad to place a car bomb outside of an army base in Israel, but was arrested by security forces in March 2003 before carrying out the attack. Matsri's father is an Israeli Arab and his mother is from Kalkilya.

Muhammad Mahajneh, a resident of Jenin, was arrested in May 2003 while transporting Majed Tsabah toward Hadera, where he was to have launched a shooting attack. Mahajneh has Israeli citizenship because his family lived in the Arab Israeli city of Umm el-Fahm. He was working for Hamas.

Samer Atrash, who lived in the Shuafat refugee camp, was arrested after he drove a suicide bomber to the French Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem, where the latter blew up on Egged bus no. 6 and killed seven Israelis in May 2003.

Murad Ala'an was recruited by Hamas to launch a suicide attack at the Filter cafe in Jerusalem, where he worked as a chef. Ala'an, originally from the Al-Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem, was the holder of an Israeli identity card because his mother lives in east Jerusalem.

During his investigation, Murad admitted that there were a number of Palestinians, all Israeli identity-card holders in the framework of the family reunification program, who had been recruited by terrorist organizations.

Another example is the Hamas cell in Jerusalem that was responsible for the suicide bombings at the Hebrew University and at Cafe Moment in Jerusalem in 2002. The cell also planned to launch attacks and blow up trains and gas tankers.

Muhammad Oudeh, of east Jerusalem, placed the bomb in the Hebrew University cafeteria. Sami Abassi, also of east Jerusalem, worked in the Holon area and compiled information on access routes to be used by suicide bombers.

We all await with baited breath for Chief Justice Barak and his clones to invent a new right: the right to commit terrorist acts.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:11 AM