The German Federal Minister of Justice, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, visited today the Society of St. Yves for a briefing on the human rights situation in the Occupied Territories. The high-ranking delegation accompanying her, included also the President of the German Bar Association, Prof. Wolfgang Ewer, the President the German Federal Bar (“Bundesrechtsanwaltkammer”), Mr. Axel C. Filges, as well as high ranking staff of the federal Ministry of Justice.

Of the 11.4 million Palestinians worldwide, 66% are forcible displaced, (refugees and internally displaced people) and over half live in the Shatat (forced exile). Instead of an event relegated to history, the Nakba continues into its 65th year – the central source for the annual increase of these displacement statistics.

The Israeli Special Appeals Committee for land seizure under emergency law released its verdict last Wednesday 24/04/2013, in the case of the Cremisan Valley against the separation wall. The verdict ruled in favor of the proposed second route which leaves the convent on the Palestinian side of the wall. With this decision the appeals submitted by Advocate Ghayyath Nasser who represented the land owners in the Cremisan Valley and the lawyer of the Society of St. Yves, Advocate Manal Hazzan-Abu Sinni, who represented the nuns of the Salesian Convent, were all together rejected. The decision came out two months after the final hearing on 12th of February and after seven years of proceedings.

We, the undersigned organizations, strongly denounce the decision of the Israeli government to extend the validity of the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law of the year 2003 for one more year. The law puts severe restrictions on the family unification process of Palestinians and totally forbids the application for the citizens of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran for family unification.