Israel prevents employees of B'Tselem from participating in a professional seminar held by the in organization in the West Bank: B'Tselem has petitioned the High Court of Justice (HCJ) through HaMoked demanding that two of the organization's field investigators in the Gaza Strip be permitted to enter the West Bank in order to participate in the organization's professional seminar held in the West Bank

On 21 December 2006 B'Tselem petitioned the HCJ via HaMoked in the matter of the refusal of the State of Israel to allow two of the organization's field investigators in the Gaza Strip to cross Israel to the West Bank in order to participate in a professional seminar arranged by the organization in the West Bank. It should be noted that Israel refuses to allow the entry of the two into Israel for the purpose of continuing to the West Bank on the grounds that there is a “security impediment” in their case.  

In the petition, B'Tselem claims that Israel arbitrarily prevents the entry of its workers into Gaza; that the Respondents have not given sufficient consideration to the importance of the activities of human rights organizations; and that they have ignored the fact that their decision is defective on factual, logical, and proportional grounds. 

B'Tselem emphasizes that the access of human rights organizations to the Palestinian population requiring their services in the Occupied Territories is particularly important when it concerns people requiring the protection of international humanitarian law, and therefore the ability of the organization to carry out its information collection work should be impaired only in the presence of grave and concrete danger. 

In addition, the organization asserts that preventing its workers from entering the West Bank impairs the right to freedom of information and the public's right to know, and specifically the right of the petitioners to respect, freedom of vocation, and freedom of movement. 

To view the petition dated 21 December 2006 (Hebrew)