interior ministry

The family of East Jerusalem resident Mustafa al-Haruf greets him upon his release from Givon prison after nine months of detention, on October 24, 2019. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israel releases stateless Palestinian journalist it tried to deport

After nine months in detention and two failed deportation attempts, Israel releases East Jerusalem resident Mustafa al-Haruf. He has been living in Jerusalem for over 20 years, yet Israel refuses to grant him permanent status. Journalist Mustafa al-Haruf, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, was released from Givon Prison on Thursday afternoon after nine months in detention.…

By Oren Ziv October 25, 2019

Palestinian journalist Mustafa al-Haruf seen at a Jerusalem Court following his arrest for supposed incitement on Facebook. He was released the following day and the case was closed, December 2017.

Jordan turns back stateless Palestinian journalist Israel tried to deport

Israel attempted to deport Mustafa al-Haruf, a stateless Palestinian photographer from East Jerusalem, to Jordan without any coordination. Al-Haruf has been living in the country for over 20 years, yet Israel refuses to grant him permanent status. Jordanian authorities refused to accept a stateless Palestinian journalist from East Jerusalem whom Israel tried to deport to the Hashemite…

By Oren Ziv July 25, 2019

Palestinian journalist Mustafa al-Haruf seen at a Jerusalem Court following his arrest for supposed incitement on Facebook. He was released the following day and the case was closed, December 2017.

Israel trying to deport stateless Palestinian journalist from Jerusalem

Mustafa al-Haruf has spent the last 20 years living in East Jerusalem, where he has a wife, daughter, and works as a photographer. Now Israel wants to deport him to Jordan, where he has no family or legal status. Mustafa al-Haruf, a stateless Palestinian journalist who lives and works in Jerusalem, has been in an…

By Oren Ziv February 27, 2019

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An illustrative photo of the Interior Ministry office in East Jerusalem. (Courtesy of Ahmad Barakat)

The nightmare of proving that you live in East Jerusalem

Scenes from the overcrowded Israeli Interior Ministry office in East Jerusalem, where Palestinian residents of the city must regularly ‘prove’ they still live there or face displacement and exile. By Amer ‘Aruri Inside the the Wadi al-Joz Interior Ministry office in East Jerusalem, an elderly man holds a one-year old child. She is crying because of…

By +972 Magazine May 16, 2018

‘They told me to go to a third country. I won’t go. I’ll go to jail.’

Israel begins issuing deportation notices to African asylum seekers: leave the country within two months, or face indefinite imprisonment. By Oren Ziv Two hundred of them arrived in the early morning hours on Sunday, gathering in an industrial area in the mostly ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, just outside of Tel Aviv. They arrived on…

By Oren Ziv February 4, 2018

A Bedouin woman from the unrecognized village of Al-Araqib sits in front of an Israeli police van. Israel has demolished al-Araqib over 100 times. (Illustrative photo by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israel is systematically revoking Arabs’ citizenship. Don’t act surprised

Hundreds if not thousands of Bedouin are having their citizenship revoked seemingly for no reason, according to ‘Haaretz.’ Shocking as it may be, it’s not surprising. Citizenship has never provided non-Jewish Israelis with the same security it gives their Jewish compatriots. Imagine going to renew your passport or change your official address and after a…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man August 26, 2017

Thousands attend a protest in Wadi Ara, northern Israel, following recent housing demolitions and the death of Yacoub Abu al-Qi'an earlier this week. January 21, 2017. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)

Arab citizens, not Israeli leftists, pay the real price for speaking out

The Israeli government may be cracking down on human rights NGOs and left-wing activists, but Palestinians citizens of Israel are the ones suffering from concrete persecution — with sometimes fatal results. The recently-passed law prohibiting the entry of boycott supporters into Israel is just the latest in a string of legislation and administrative measures aimed at curtailing…

By Roi Maor March 12, 2017

Israeli policemen stand by as a bulldozer demolishes the Bedouin village of Al-Arakib for the 64th time (photo: Activestills.org)

The risk of building while Bedouin

According to a recent court ruling, only Bedouin need to be concerned about illegal construction. Israeli Jews, it turns out, are immune to home demolitions. By Michal Rotem (translated by Ofer Neiman) The Be’er Sheva Magistrates Court recently overturned an indictment against a Jewish Israeli for building three guest houses without a permit, due to…

By +972 Magazine February 29, 2016

Awat and Ksenet.

Why is the state trying to jail married asylum seekers?

It seems the authorities did everything they could to separate a married Eritrean couple who fled their home country and sought refuge in Israel. By Ofer Attar Meet Awat and Ksenet, asylum seekers from Eritrea who also happen to be a married couple. The state is currently trying to separate them and send Awat to…

By +972 Magazine February 22, 2016

British peace activist Gary Spedding holds up his passport, with a refusal stamp from the Israeli border authorities. (photo: Aaron Dover)

British national challenges Israel’s policy of deporting peace activists

Israel’s Interior Ministry banned British peace activist Gary Spedding from the country for 10 years, claiming that he was an anti-Semitic liar who might start a riot. Unlike other activists who have suffered the same fate, Spedding isn’t giving up without a fight. An Israeli court is slated to rule next month on a case…

By Haggai Matar August 24, 2015

African asylum seekers arrive at Israel’s Holot detention facility in the Negev desert, February 18, 2014. (Photo: Activestills.org) Israel’s High Court has twice struck down the law allowing the indefinite detention of asylum seekers.

Israel to indefinitely imprison asylum seekers who refuse deportation

In a move unprecedented in Western countries, Israel’s outgoing interior minister announces plan to compel asylum seekers to leave the country. Israel’s High Court has repeatedly struck down laws that authorized the indefinite detention of asylum seekers. Asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea will face deportation to third countries or face unlimited imprisonment in Israel…

By Mairav Zonszein March 31, 2015

Panel of the Israeli Supreme Court (file photo, Activestills.org)

Shuttering shops on Shabbat: Hypocrisy and the rule of law

The Supreme Court recently ordered that the rule of law be enforced when it comes to Tel Aviv shuttering businesses on the Sabbath. But the court is inconsistent with its own demands, only ordering that ‘the law is the law’ when it’s convenient. These are confusing times. Our friends don’t know what to think, and…

By Laissez Passer July 1, 2013

Complete control: On the unquestioned authority of the Interior Ministry

Israel’s judges rarely question whether the Interior Ministry may not actually be an expert on immigration matters, or whether it might be making decisions without asking the right questions – even when someone’s life is on the line. The courts generally accept any, or nearly any, factual claim provided by the Interior Ministry regarding individuals…

By Laissez Passer April 27, 2013