The United Nations has issued a resolution calling on the Israeli Knesset to allow Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, who are married to Israelis, the right to apply for citizenship or residency.

The law effectively bans Palestinians married to Israelis from living with their spouses in the country.

The 18-strong Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) said the Temporary Suspension Order, approved by Israeli parliament on the 31 July, violated the 1966 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination – an entrenched international human rights treaty.

Israel is among the 169 countries to have ratified the convention.

But the Israeli Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Yaakov Levy, said the resolution displayed a “biased approach which singles out Israel.”

It is estimated that since 1993 more than 100,000 Palestinians have obtained Israeli permits through marriage.

The Israeli government claims the law aims to prevent terror attacks.