In the midst of Israel's reoccupation of the West Bank in 2002, an often repeated lie became the basis of a racist Israeli law. The fabrication was that Palestinian men from the West Bank marry Israeli Arab women for the sole reason of having an opportunity to enter Israel and carry out acts of terror.
No proof was ever presented showing this absurd claim, yet in 2003 the "Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law" passed, barring West Bank and Gaza residents from the automatic Israeli citizenship typically granted to those who marry Israelis. Palestinians and some Israelis have consistently argued that the law is a naked attempt to lower the number of Israeli citizens of Arab origin. What has been less discussed is that this law has affected Palestinians from Jerusalem who are Israeli residents, and it is seen by Palestinians as an attempt to lessen the number of Arabs who live in a city Israeli Jews consider their united and eternal capital.
The process began in the Ariel Sharon administration. The temporary law that originated in a 2002 Cabinet order passed and suspended the issue of citizenship on family reunification grounds between Israeli citizens and residents of the West Bank and Gaza.
The Knesset enacted the law on July 31, 2003. The law forbids Israelis married to, or who will marry in the future, residents of the occupied territories from living in Israel with their spouses. Israelis married to foreign nationals who are not residents of the occupied territories are still allowed to submit requests for family unification on their behalf.
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