Til the IDF do us apart
Saad Banoura from Bethlehem wants to move to US with his American wife, but the IDF is making things difficult. Army won’t give Banoura permit to enter East Jerusalem so he can be interviewed for visa at US consulate. Meanwhile, his wife’s visa is about to expire
Banoura, who is confined to a wheelchair, suffers from lower-body paralysis from wounds incurred during the first intifada. He has already filled out all the paperwork towards requesting a visa, and is just waiting for the personal interview at the US Consulate in East Jerusalem, which handles Palestinian's affairs in the territories.
Saad Banoura and his wife in photo from their wedding album
His interview was set for November 14, but when Benoura requested an entry permit into Israel at the Gush Etzion Coordination and Liaison Headquarters, he was turned down. The army told him due to security reasons he was barred from entering the city.
Banoura’s wife is still with him in Bethlehem, but her visa expires soon, and lately Israel has tended not to renew visas for foreign nationals residing in the Palestinian territories. “If they insist on being stubborn, my wife and I will have to live apart, with all the repercussions that could have on the survival of our marriage,” Banoura told Ynet.
'Shoddy excuses'
The Machsom Watch organization has gotten involved in the issue and has appealed to the Coordination and Liaison Headquarters, the Defense Ministry and MK Yossi Beilin, but has not yet seen any results.Hannah Berg, an activist with the organization who is handling Banoura’s case, was cynical about the affair. “Israel wants to encourage Palestinian emigration and transfer, but when a Palestinian volunteers to leave, they give him problems,” she commented.
Banoura is concerned that aside from his involvement 1991 in intifada incidents, the IDF is using incorrect information linked to his ID number as an excuse to keep him out of Jerusalem. Banoura divorced his first wife in 2002, but only asked to have his information updated upon marrying his current wife. When he turned to the Palestinian Interior Ministry to register his divorce and remarriage, the offices were on strike. However, he has managed to get verification that he had indeed registered his changed marital status.
“I think they’re taking advantage of the issue as an excuse to postpone my request,” he said. “Their ‘security’ excuse is absurd because in 2001 at the height of the second intifada, not only did I enter Israel but I flew out of the Ben Gurion Airport. So their security claim is a pathetic and shoddy excuse.
Hadash Chairman, Knesset Member Mohammad Barakeh turned to Defense Minister Amir Peretz in a personal request that Banoura be given an entry permit.
Speaking to Ynet, Barakeh slammed the Defense Ministry. “This is yet another incident of the occupation’s cruelty and the security forces’ abuse of helpless people. Their claim that he (Banoura) can’t enter due to security reasons is a stupid alibi.”
