RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian officials and Israeli lawyers say that over the past year, Israel has made it harder for those with ties to Palestinians to stay in the West Bank on spouse or work visas. They say that harms families, universities and even a school teaching Western classical music to Palestinian children.

COGAT, a branch of the Israeli Defense Ministry, denies it has adopted tougher rules, saying visa applications are judged on a case-by-case basis. It did not respond to requests to provide statistics.

The underlying problem for foreigners is that the Palestinian self-rule government, which administers 38 percent of the West Bank, does not have the authority to grant them residency without approval by Israel.

As a result, thousands of people are in limbo, with residency applications often ignored or rejected, leaving them only with the option of seeking temporary visas from Israel.