Right-wing lawmakers expressed outrage Tuesday after the Defense Ministry allowed the Palestinian Authority to register 1,200 undocumented Palestinians living in the West Bank as residents. The move comes after a recent meeting between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
The 1,200 individuals will now be able to receive Palestinian passports. In addition, another 2,800 residents – who moved to the West Bank from the Gaza Strip before Hamas took over in 2007 – will be able to change their addresses.
Under the Oslo Accords, the Israeli government must approve permanent residency requests for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and any change in the Palestinian population registry, including change of residence.
The ministry stressed that all applications were approved on humanitarian grounds and that each applicant was thoroughly vetted. It further stressed that every applicant had been residing in the West Bank for an extended period of time.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak approved 35,000 such applications during his time in office. The move sparked outrage among right-wing circles, with some saying this was tantamount to granting the Palestinians a
"right of return."
The latest move drew the ire of Knesset members as well.
"Gantz's gesture to the Palestinians only confirms my claim that he is adhering to extreme left-wing voices," Likud MK Miki Zohar tweeted. "Abbas is satisfied, but what about Israelis?"
Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich said: " This government is irresponsible and puts the future of the State of Israel at risk."
