Center for the Defence of the Individual - The Ministry of Interior, the nonexistent hearing, and the fake transcript
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חזרה לעמוד הקודם
02.10.2011

The Ministry of Interior, the nonexistent hearing, and the fake transcript

A few years ago, a Palestinian native inhabitant of East Jerusalem was deprived of his residency status without prior notice. In April 2011, the man applied, via HaMoked, to the Ministry of Interior to have his Israeli status reinstated and his children listed in the population registry.

On July 11, 2011, HaMoked received the response of the interior ministry, to the effect that "following the case review and the hearing held on July 11, 2011, it has been determined that his residency status could not be approved for reinstatement". HaMoked, aware that the man had neither arrived at the interior ministry recently, nor been called to any hearing on his case, was perplexed by the response.  In HaMoked's telephone conversation with the East Jerusalem Population Administration Bureau, the head of division insisted that the hearing had in fact taken place, and that she possessed a transcript attesting to the fact.

The travesty continued as the interior ministry actually delivered to HaMoked the transcript of the "hearing". This was nothing less than a forged document, bearing the date of July 11, 2011, allegedly documenting the questions to the applicant, his replies and his claims, as well as the claims of the attorney, alleged to have been present at the hearing. 

Needless to say, the hearing never took place! The man did not arrive at the interior ministry, and the attorney was on military reserve duty in the north of Israel on that day. The transcript of the hearing– which never existed – was fabricated in black & white, bearing the name of this head of division on the bottom.

HaMoked sent strident complaints to the head of Population Immigration and Border Authority and to the director of the East Jerusalem branch, yet, despite the urgency and severity of the matter, only received a verbal communication, stating that "this might be an error".   

The presumption of proper public administration is now well established in the courts. It founded on the precept that as a public body entrusted with the provision of services to the residents and citizens of the state, the public administration acts in a fair and efficient manner, striving to minimize harm to those seeking its services.

The Population Administration Bureau rules over the destinies of its applicants, nothing less. The forging of documents, which amounts to a criminal offence, compounded by the continued absence of any explanation for it, raises the concern of fundamental flaws in the authority's actions. 

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