How Many Palestinians Have Israeli Entry Permits? COGAT Gave the Knesset No Total

Palestinian entry permits fall into 8 areas in COGAT’s own classification, its status of authorizations updated 13 January 2022, which the Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded in a paper dated 4 June 2023. COGAT, the Ministry of Defense unit that issues the permits, gave the Centre no total of permits issued. The published figures on this record are the Israel Police’s and the Israel Security Agency’s own arrest counts for 2018 to 2022, each on its own definition, and the Agency’s own estimate of people staying without a permit.

Figure	What it counts	Who published it	Period
8	Permit areas in COGAT’s own classification	COGAT, recorded by the Knesset Research and Information Centre	Updated 13 January 2022
21,356	Palestinians arrested for security offences, on the Police’s own definition	Israel Police, relayed by the Knesset Research and Information Centre	2018 to 2022
2,115	Permit holders among those arrests, about 10% of 21,356	Israel Police, relayed by the Knesset Research and Information Centre	2018 to 2022
1,331	Permit holders arrested for terror offences, on the Agency’s own definition	Israel Security Agency, relayed by the Knesset Research and Information Centre	2018 to 2022
About 7,000	Palestinians in Israel without a permit on a weekday, an estimate	Israel Security Agency, relayed by the Knesset Research and Information Centre	Reported June 2023
33,127	Palestinians arrested for illegal stay, the Police’s own count	Israel Police, relayed by the Knesset Research and Information Centre	2018 to 2022
99,500	Government-approved quota of permits to employ Palestinian workers in Israel	State Comptroller of Israel	2018
14,100	Employment permits for Palestinians working for Israelis in West Bank industrial zones	State Comptroller of Israel, on Civil Administration data	May 2022

COGAT’s permit document sorts entry permits into 8 areas

Entry into Israel, or into Israeli localities in the West Bank, requires a COGAT permit for any purpose, the Knesset Research and Information Centre states. COGAT’s own classification, in its status of authorizations updated 13 January 2022, sorts the permits into 8 areas:

• Health
• Legal
• Studies
• Employment
• Economy
• Religious worship
• Senior Palestinian officials
• Population movement for various needs

On partial COGAT data for 2018 to 2020, the Centre also recorded age-based permits, for men aged 55 and over and women aged 50 and over, as one of the main groups among permit holders from Judea and Samaria.

The Knesset Research Centre received no permit total from COGAT

The Knesset Research and Information Centre asked COGAT, through the Defence Minister’s office, for the total number of permits issued. The Centre wrote, in a Hebrew paper rendered here in working translation: “despite repeated requests, no answer was received from COGAT or the National Security Council.”

The Centre did hold partial COGAT data released under freedom of information, COGAT’s own records of its own permits. That data carries these findings for 2018 to 2020, and no permit count:

• Most permit holders were residents of Judea and Samaria.
• A small minority were residents of Gaza.
• The main Judea and Samaria groups held employment permits or age-based permits.

Police counted 2,115 permit holders among 21,356 security arrests

The Israel Police counted 21,356 Palestinians arrested for security offences in 2018 to 2022, of whom 2,115, about 10%, held entry permits. The count is the Police’s own, on the Police’s own definition of a security offence, relayed by the Knesset Research and Information Centre. It counts arrests, not indictments or convictions.

The Security Agency counted 1,331 permit holders arrested for terror

The Israel Security Agency counted 1,331 permit holders arrested for terror offences in 2018 to 2022, the Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded. The count is the Agency’s own, on the Agency’s own definition of a terror offence.

• 1,331 permit holders arrested, 2018 to 2022.
• 96% of the 1,331 were residents of Judea and Samaria.
• The Agency and the Israel Police define terror and security events differently, the Centre states, which is why their counts differ.

The Security Agency estimates about 7,000 illegal stayers each weekday

The Israel Security Agency estimates that about 7,000 Palestinians are in Israel without a permit on a weekday, the Knesset Research and Information Centre reported in June 2023. The figure is the Agency’s own estimate, not a count. The Israel Police hold no estimate of their number, and the Police’s own count is of arrests.

• About 7,000: the Agency’s estimate of people present on one weekday.
• 90% of the about 7,000: from Judea and Samaria, on the same estimate.
• 33,127: Palestinians the Israel Police arrested for illegal stay across 2018 to 2022.

Police and Security Agency counts may not be added together

• The 2,115 is the Israel Police’s own count and the 1,331 the Israel Security Agency’s own count, each on its own definition, so the two do not sum.
• About 7,000 is the Agency’s own estimate of people present at one time; 33,127 is the Police’s own count of arrests across five years. Neither is a share of the other.
• 99,500 is a quota, a permitted maximum for 2018; 14,100 is employment permits in West Bank industrial zones in May 2022, not people at work on any given day.
• The Knesset paper is dated 4 June 2023 and describes nothing after 7 October 2023.

Questions readers ask

Does Israel publish a total number of Palestinian entry permits?

The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded in June 2023 that COGAT did not answer its repeated requests for a total. The paper prints no permit count.

Who issues entry permits for Palestinians?

COGAT, a unit of the Ministry of Defense, issues them. The Knesset Research and Information Centre states that a permit is required to enter Israel or Israeli localities in the West Bank for any purpose.

Which Palestinians hold age-based permits?

The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded, on partial COGAT data for 2018 to 2020, age-based permits for men aged 55 and over and women aged 50 and over as one of the main groups among permit holders from Judea and Samaria.

Do most permit holders come from the West Bank or Gaza?

The Knesset Research and Information Centre found, on partial COGAT data for 2018 to 2020, that most holders were residents of Judea and Samaria and a small minority residents of Gaza.

How many work permits did Israel approve for Palestinian workers?

The State Comptroller of Israel recorded a government-approved quota of 99,500 permits to employ Palestinian workers in Israel for 2018. It is a quota, not a count of workers present.

How many Palestinians work in West Bank industrial zones on permits?

The State Comptroller of Israel reported 14,100 employment permits issued to Palestinians employed by Israelis in the West Bank industrial zones, on Civil Administration data for May 2022. It counts permits, not people at work on a given day.

Why do the Police and Security Agency give different arrest figures?

The Knesset Research and Information Centre states that each body defines terror and security events differently. Their counts are two series and are never added.

How many Palestinian spouses of Israelis hold COGAT stay permits?

The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded 8,300 people holding a COGAT stay permit through family unification on 31 October 2024, of 13,550 holding status that way.

Can Gaza patients leave for treatment through Israel?

COGAT states, on its own count, that close to 5,000 ill and wounded people, with escorts, exited Gaza via Kerem Shalom for treatment abroad, the route it states was used as of August 2024. Evacuation requires a receiving state’s consent and security screening.

What permit does a Palestinian patient need to enter Israel?

Health is one of the 8 areas in COGAT’s own classification, the Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded, alongside legal, studies, employment and religious worship.

Does the record cover permits after 7 October 2023?

The Knesset Research and Information Centre published its paper on 4 June 2023, and its arrest figures end in 2022. Nothing in it describes permit policy after 7 October 2023.

Sources

• COGAT, undated. Medical Response (Gaza), and Medical Evacuation Mechanism of Gaza Residents to Third Countries Through Israel. gaza-aid-data.gov.il and gov.il. Official or primary record (Ministry of Defense unit, self-reported).
• Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2023. Data on Palestinians with Entry Permits and Illegal Stayers Arrested for Terror and Security Offences. 4 June 2023. fs.knesset.gov.il. Official or primary record (the Knesset’s research service), in Hebrew.
• Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2026. Family Unification of Israelis and Their Spouses Who Are Residents of the Area. 10 March 2026. knesset.gov.il. Official or primary record (the Knesset’s research service), in Hebrew.
• State Comptroller of Israel, 2021. Staff Officers in the Civil Administration in the Judea and Samaria Region. Annual Report 70C, English abstract. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record (state audit institution).
• State Comptroller of Israel, 2023. Industrial Zones Under Israeli Management in the Judea and Samaria Area, Follow-up Audit. February 2023. mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record (state audit institution), in Hebrew.