New report by HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual exposing the destructive bureaucratic mechanism which governs the daily lives of Palestinians under the permit regime inside the "seam zone"

Ever since 2003, the Israeli military has been implementing a permit regime in the areas of the West Bank trapped between the separation wall and the Green Line, which Israel designates the “seam zone”. Every Palestinian who lives in or wishes to enter these areas must first obtain a military-issued permit for that purpose. The permit regime applies to Palestinians only – Israelis and tourists do not require any permit to enter or stay in the “seam zone” areas.

The permit regime violates various human rights of OPT residents from both sides of the separation wall. First and foremost, it constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of movement, and in particular, the right to travel freely within one's country; this violation leads to the violation of other human rights: the rights to family life, health, and education, the rights to property and a livelihood, and the rights to culture and community-living, all accompanied by a severe violation of the rights to equality and dignity.

It is a creeping dispossession of West-Bank lands under the cover of a bureaucracy which operates pursuant to military law with the approval of the Israeli Supreme Court; nonetheless, this dispossession contradicts many tenets of Israeli and international law.

Click here to read the executive summary of the report

Click here to read the full report