HaMoked has submitted a petition demanding that a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem be permitted to visit her sick mother in the Gaza Strip: For over two and a half years the military has refused to enable the Petitioner and her family to attend to the mother in the Gaza Strip. The military has reneged on its undertaking and authorizations, using vague security grounds to justify its refusal

On 31 December 2007 a temporary resident represented by HaMoked who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia filed a claim to receive a general disability pension. The Plaintiff was born in the West Bank. Although his father was a resident of East Jerusalem, he was not registered in either the Israeli Population Registry (as was his legal entitlement) or the Population Registry in the Territories. He was neglected by his parents and, as a child, lived intermittently with his grandmother and his brother. His brother received a custodianship order and filed an application for family unification on his behalf. The application was rejected; over the following five years, the Plaintiff filed two further family unification applications. The last of these applications was rejected by the Interior Ministry on the grounds that the paternity of the father – the Israeli resident – had never been proved. Following a petition filed by HaMoked, the Family Court issued a declarative ruling recognizing the paternity of the Israeli resident father. Despite this, the Interior Minister again refused to approve the application for family unification and the Plaintiff was not registered in the Population Registry. 

Between 2001 and 2004 HaMoked engaged in protracted legal proceedings demanding that the Plaintiff be recognized and receive status. The situation of a stateless person is difficult and intolerable. By way of example, such a person is not entitled to basic welfare services provided for citizens or residents of the state. Over the years, the Plaintiff was detained several times for being unlawfully present in Israel. He was beaten and humiliated. He showed signs of psychological disturbances, but due to his lack of status he received no treatment. Following the decision of the district court not to intervene in the considerations of the Interior Ministry, the Plaintiff appealed to the Supreme Court through HaMoked. The Supreme Court ruled that the Interior Ministry must issue the Plaintiff with a temporary permit (B/1) in order to permit his rehabilitation. During 2005 the Plaintiff’s permit was extended by six months and, in 2006, he received an A/5-type visa and an identity card. His application to the Interior Ministry for permanent status in Israel is currently pending. 

On 11 January 2007 the Plaintiff filed a claim with the National Insurance Institute for a general disability pension. The Institute’s disability committee determined that he was suffering from temporary medical disability at the level of forty percent, but the Institute rejected the claim for a general disability pension, arguing that at the time the disability was caused the Plaintiff was not a resident of Israel. The National Insurance Institute completely ignored the fact that over an exhausting period of twelve years, the Plaintiff attempted to regulate his status in Israel through governmental bodies, by legal efforts, and through the Interior Ministry, the District Court, and the Supreme Court. 

To view the petition dated 31 December 2007 (Hebrew)