Hello,
The question was raised yet again, and answered properly by Deror, but I
would like to add some information:
Israel is more accessible to Palestinians than many other countries.
When Wikimania was held in Alexandria, Egypt, a Palestinian citizen was
denied visa by the Egyptian authorities. Many Palestinians from the West
Bank have permanent entry permit to Israel. Those who don't, can
apply for a permit at the offices of the Palestinian Authority (the PA
sends the request to Israel). In the unlikely event that this process
fails, the Palestinian participant can contact the organizers and ask
them to apply for a permit on his/her behalf. Palestinians from Gaza can
visit Israel, but unfortunately, the process of approving their visit is
time consuming due to the fact that the Hamas government does not
recognize Israel. Also, the authorities in Gaza don't always approve
visits to Israel or even to the West Bank (I know that because I talked
with Gazan Palestinians who came to Israel)
I personally published an announcement in Arabic on the Arabic-language
Wikipedia calling upon Palestinians and citizens of Arab countries to
attend Wikimania 2011. In that message I gave details about the process
of obtaining a visa or an entry permit.
Of course all this is irrelevant to Palestinians and Arab people who are
citizens or residents of Israel (including East Jerusalem and the Golan
Heights). They can visit Haifa just as a Dutch person from Amsterdam can
visit Rotterdam (as Deror have already explained).
There are a lot of imaginary stories about the West Bank Barrier. I
won't get into politics, because this is hardly the place for it, but
the fact is that the barrier prevents ILLEGAL entry into Israel. The
Green Line is a border, per Israeli and international law, and crossing
it has always been subject to limitations, with the barrier or without
it. Entering Israel unlawfully was unacceptable before the barrier
was built just as it is today. Those who wish to enter Israel lawfully
can do it today just as they always have.
Dror K
_______________________________________________
Wikimania-l mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
