TEL AVIV, August 17, 2006 (WAFA)- Two Israeli HR organizations said Israel's freeze policy on family unification in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) splits tens of thousands of Palestinian families.

B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories and HaMoked, Center for the Defence of the Individual, published Perpetual Limbo , a report on Israel 's policy freezing family unification for Palestinians in OPT . Although the policy affects almost every Palestinian family living in OPT, it is unknown to the Israeli public.

"For almost six years, since the beginning of the Intifada, in September 2000, Israel has forbidden Palestinians of OPT from living with their spouses who are foreign residents. Israel also prohibits the foreign family members from visiting OPT," the report stated. "Israel refuses to process the more than 120,000 requests for family unification that have been submitted during this period."

The freeze policy severely infringes the right to marry and found a family of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians: spouses are unable to live under the same roof, children are forced to grow up in single-parent families, people do not leave OPT because Israel will not allow them to return, women who are foreign residents live in OPT with no legal status and thus face the constant threat of deportation.

Israel contends that the freeze resulted from the intifada and the security situation. However, Israel has never explained how the policy serves its security needs. Indeed, research suggests that Israel is using the arbitrary and non-transparent freeze policy to advance forbidden demographic goals.

The report, it should be noted, does not deal with family unification inside Israel, but rather with Palestinians wishing to live with their foreign spouses in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel holds exclusive power over the ability of these families to live together. Only Israel can approve requests for family unification and visitor's permits, given its control over the Palestinian population registry, and its control over the border crossings into the West Bank, the report said.

Even following the disengagement, the report stated, Israel retains complete control over family unification in the Gaza Strip as well.

"Israel continues to control the Gaza population registry, and spouses and children of Palestinians who do not carry a Palestinian identity card are forbidden from entering Gaza through the Rafah crossing," the report said. "Instead they must enter through a border crossing controlled by Israel."

In the report's conclusion, B'Tselem and HaMoked urged the government of Israel to immediately begin processing the requests for family unification and visitor's permits.

(21:56 P) (18:56 GMT)