Another denial of entry for a film-maker…

This is an email I was sent from Annemarie Jacir, she is a Palestinian film director who shared with us her experience of being denied entry.

—– Forwarded Message —-
From: Annemarie Jacir
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 7:52:52 AM
Subject: Denied Entry

I have been looking forward to this week for months now – it was to be one of the most important moments for me – the world premiere of my feature film “milh hadha al- bahr” (Salt of this Sea) in Palestine.

The premiere was to take place in Amari Refugee camp in Ramallah, with the cast and crew, the people who helped make this film happen, who believe in it, to be in attendance. An outdoor screening and an occasion to share the completion of a project which has been the result of a five-year struggle. What made this event so special was that it is also a big celebration for us – that we received the incredible news that the film was selected for the Cannes Film Festival as an Official Selection.

As you may know, the Israeli Authorities have not allowed me to return to Palestine for 9 months now. Because of this we were not able to film a main scene of the film and in the end, the scene had to be shot in Marseille, France. My lawyer has been working now for eight months on the issue of my return home. So for the premiere of the film, I also had an invitation from the French Consulate in Jerusalem, who have been supporters of the film, and the International Art Academy of Ramallah were co-sponsoring the screening. There was nothing I was looking forward to more than finally being back in Palestine and sharing the film.

From Amman, Jordan, I took the bus to the Allenby bridge (Sheikh Hussein) in order to cross the Jordanian border and enter the West Bank. I arrived at the bridge at 10 in the morning. The Israelis held me there for six hours, during which time I was interrogated approximately five times. In the beginning I was made to wait in the main room with all the other people crossing. After some time, I was taken to another section in the back, separated from the others, and spent the remaining period of my time waiting there alone. Every now and then people would come in and out of a door, sometimes to ask me questions, sometimes just on their way somewhere else. My telephone was taken from me.

At the end, I was then taken to the general room once more and asked to sit and wait. After about 20 minutes, a woman in a blue uniform (the others wore a different uniform), came towards me with my passport in her hand and four security agents behind her. She handed me my passport and said, “The Israeli Ministry of Interior has denied you entry.” I asked if a reason was given. She said, “You spend too much time here.” I was then deported – escorted by two of the agents out of the terminal and onto a bus back to Jordan.

I got on the bus. I felt like my legs weren’t strong enough to carry me.

Right to Enter Campaign meets with Blair

Quartet Representative Tony Blair met with representatives of the Campaign for the
Right to Enter on 17 April to discuss the obstacles that foreign passport holders encounter
when they seek to enter or reside in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), and their
likely impact on the Quartet’s efforts to revive Palestinian economic life.

Campaign member Charles Shammas explained that “contrary to international law, Israel
continues to exercise its control over entry and residency in an arbitrary, capricious and
political manner that seriously harms Palestinian economic, social and cultural life.”

In the past two years, hundreds of Palestinians with foreign passports and other foreign
nationals have been denied entry into the oPt. Many others have been denied permits to
stay in the oPt and expelled. Israel’s failure to act on the overwhelming majority of
family reunification applications since 2000 directly affects at least half a million people
whose families remain separated or under threat of separation. Vital health, educational,
religious and social services are handicapped and disrupted. Business investment is
deterred or thwarted. Families are forced to relocate outside the oPt just to stay together.

Campaign members drew Mr Blair’s attention to the futility of attempting to attract
investment in the oPt while the ability of investors’ to directly manage and oversee their
investments and the ability of Palestinian institutions and businesses to recruit and retain
the human resources needed for development remains uncertain and subject to Israel’s
political discretion. The upcoming May investor’s conference in Bethlehem, part of the
Quartet’s current efforts to stimulate foreign investment in the Palestinian economy, is
likely to be confronted with such critical questions by participants who will only be able
to attend the 3-day conference under an exceptional arrangement with Israel.
Despite the repeated calls of states whose nationals have been denied entry to the oPt
Israeli authorities have persistently failed to establish a transparent, internationally lawful
policy on which foreign nationals wishing to enter or maintain their presence in the
occupied Palestinian territory can rely. The Campaign stressed the need for a
comprehensive solution for the broad spectrum of foreign nationals that are vulnerable to
arbitrary exclusion or expulsion.

The Campaign urged the Quartet to begin receiving, compiling and reviewing data on
Israel’s exercise of control over entry, residency, and family unification in the occupied
Palestinian territory. “To have any hope of success, the Quartet should start sending clear
signals that the arbitrary exclusion and expulsion of foreign passport holders from the
oPt, like Israel’s other abusive restrictions on movement and access, violates Israel’s
treaty obligations to the states represented in the Quartet, is contrary to the UN Charter,
and thus directly concerns the Quartet itself” Shammas concluded.