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