S. K., Age 36
In 1995, I married a resident of Bethlehem. My husband came to live with me in Ras el-'Amud. We lived in a house with one bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. The house belonged to my father. In June 1996, the Interior Ministry informed me that my request for family unification had been rejected. They said it was due to security reasons, but they did not give any details. I filed an appeal, which also was rejected.
My husband still lives with me in Jerusalem. He has a magnetic card and a permit to enter Jerusalem, which is given to merchants. He got that through the company that his brother owns. Because of a heart problem, my husband has not worked since 1999. We live off the assistance we get from my brother-in-law and from a National Insurance Institute allotment.
I have two children: Nur a-Din, who was born on 8 April 1998, and Baha a-Din, who was born on 3 November 2001. I gave birth to Nur at a hospital in Bethlehem, and he has a Palestinian identity card. The Israeli Interior Ministry refused to register him in my identity card. I told the official at the Interior Ministry that I had to give birth in Bethlehem because I went into labor while I was in the city. The officials demanded that I prove this, and I brought them a medical certificate that confirmed what I said. In early 2002, I went to HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, in Jerusalem, to help me get Nur registered in my ID card. I gave HaMoked the medical document relating to Nur's birth. It was issued on 25 May 2001. HaMoked managed to register Nur at the Health Fund, but I have not yet received word about recording him in my ID card. Nur has speech problems and I take him to the Center for Child Development, in Beit Hanina [East Jerusalem]. Baha a-Din was born in Hadassah Hospital, in Ein Kerem, but the officials at the Interior Ministry still refuse to record him in my identity card. I also sought HaMoked's assistance on that matter. Not long ago, on 6 July 2003, HaMoked received a positive response, and Baha was recorded in my ID card.
The fact that my husband cannot live with us legally has a great effect on us. He only has a temporary permit to enter Israel. So, at any time, the authorities may prohibit him from moving about freely inside Israel. Also, the permit does not allow him to spend the night in Jerusalem. As a result, he is living in our house illegally, which causes a great deal of stress. Sometimes, my husband has to run away from the house or hide when the army comes to the area where we live. As I mentioned, my husband has a heart problem. On the one hand, he does not have health insurance in Israel, and on the other hand, he cannot go to the West Bank for treatment because of the checkpoints and the restrictions on movement.
I am worried about the future of my two children, particularly Nur. I cannot register him in school in Jerusalem because he is not recorded in my identity card. I will have to register him in a school in the West Bank, which is harder to get to.
S. K., 36, married with two children, is a resident of Ras el-'Amud. The testimony was given to Iyad Haddad on 2 October 2003. The particulars of S.K. are on file at B'Tselem.