Palestinians are not given an appropriate opportunity to appeal the decision of revocation. The Ministry of Interior only grants a formal right to be heard and at no point is the resident allowed to present his argument orally. In many instances, the Ministry does not even respond to letters appealing the decision. Where a response is sent the appeal is rejected without giving reasons. Where an appeal is granted, the Ministry prevents residents from reviewing the material on which the decision of revocation is based.
Residents are therefore unable to prepare properly for the proceedings.
The Ministry only issues family unification in exceptional cases, where special circumstances exist . Requests for family unification in general are not processed. In 1997, the Ministry had a backlog of 7,470 requests. During the Ministry s investigation into family unification, couples from the west Bank and Gaza are not allowed to live together and children to live with their parents. This policy gravely affects family life.