The Impact of the Apartheid Separation Wall on Resiedancy Rights of Palestinian women: A Case Study on Jerusalemite Married Women and their Spouses Holding a Different Identity Card

Abstract

This research aims to examine the impact of the Apartheid separation Wall (ASW) on the residency rights of Palestinian couples that reside on both sides of the ASW border zone and in which the women hold a Jerusalem identification card (ID) and are married to spouses whom hold a different ID. The ASW border zone includes the J1 area, which was annexed to the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem after the six-day-war of 1967 and the J2 area, which is excluded from the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem. The Jerusalemite women who are married to spouses and hold different ID’s have been facing a complex dilemma and many hardships of displacement and statelessness. These women and their families have been threatened of losing their residency right in Jerusalem as they are not considered Israeli citizens. The Palestinian Jerusalemites’ fundamental rights to adequate housing and freedom of movement and their rights to health, work, education, and family life are thus routinely violated as a result of Israeli policies. These policies include the plethora of [Israeli colonialist] legislative measures aimed at reducing the number of Palestinians resident within Jerusalem municipality boundaries.