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 Israel
Reunites Palestinian Gay With Israeli Partner
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: March 25, 2008 - 1:00 pm ET
(Jerusalem) The Israeli
government has granted a gay Palestinian man permission to
move from the occupied West Bank to Tel Aviv so that he can be
reunited with his partner.
Allowing people to move to
Israel from the occupied territories is highly unusual and the
permission comes with stipulations.
"We granted a temporary permit to this Palestinian because his lawyer said
his life was in danger in his community because of his sexual tendencies," Peter Lerner,
a spokesperson for the Israeli military in the West Bank told
the Yediot Aharonot newspaper.
Lerner did not divulge the
names of either man citing privacy concerns but said the two
men had been in a relationship for about eight years.
He said that the 33 year old
lived in the West Bank town of Jenin and had applied to
Israel's interior ministry for a permit several years ago but was turned down.
The man reapplied after
receiving death threats when his family discovered he was
gay. The decision to allow him into Israel was made by
Maj. Gen. Yossef Mishlav after the man was questioned by
security officials.
"There's nothing wrong
with me. All I want is to be with my boyfriend," he told the paper.
Under the approval granted by
Mishlav the man's permit must be renewed every month until the
Interior Ministry makes a final decision.
"He asked for a long-term residence permit under the family reunification
legislation but only the interior ministry can grant that status," Lerner
said.
One of the reasons for granting
the temporary permit was the health condition of the Israeli
partner who is suffering from heart disease.
Gays and lesbians in Israel
have been steadily gaining civil rights since the government
overturned the law against sodomy in 1988.
There have been no restrictions
on gays serving in the military since 1993. In 2000, the age
of consent for gays was lowered to 16, to match the legal age
for consensual sex for heterosexuals.
Gay couples are given most
federal rights in Israel, although gay marriages (which are
only religious marriages in Israel) are not permitted.
©365Gay.com 2008
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