Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz directed Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alyan, the Israel Defense Forces’ Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), to approve the registration of some 4,000 Palestinians to the Palestinian Population Registry.
An appearance in the registry is necessary for West Bank Palestinians to receive Palestinian ID cards and passports. The Palestinian Authority manages the Palestinian Population Registry in coordination with Israel.
The approval came after prior research on the issue was conducted, the COGAT office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Alyan notified P.A. representatives that 1,200 requests for Palestinians who have been living in the West Bank for years without registration had been approved, in addition to 2,800 Palestinians born in the Gaza Strip and who moved to the West Bank prior to 2007.
“We stress that all of the requests approved were done on a humanitarian basis—and that every request was thoroughly examined and was granted in line with security approval by the relevant security elements in Israel,” stated COGAT.
The approval was given specifically to P.A. residents and not to Palestinians who live abroad.
