On July 27, 2014,
HaMoked wrote to the State Attorney's office to demand a list of all Palestinians who had been detained during the fighting in the Gaza Strip, and transferred to detention facilities inside Israel; this in order to eliminate the situation where hundreds of people are held incommunicado, completely exposed to a sustained violation of their basic rights. HaMoked stressed that given the current situation of ongoing fighting in Gaza, it is extremely difficult for families to discover what happened to their loved one – whether they were arrested, killed or have fled their homes; HaMoked added that as an organization long involved in tracing detainees, and protecting their rights, it now sees itself obligated in the current situation to substitute the families, and discover the identity and whereabouts of the detainees.
On July 28, 2014,
the response of the State Attorney's Office arrived, announcing that the state would not send to HaMoked the requested list of detainees; instead HaMoked was advised to submit to the military control center individual tracing requests – containing the detainee's full details
and proof that the inquirer was related to the alleged detainee.
In view of this outrageous response,
HaMoked petitioned the High Court of Justice to instruct the state to disclose the details of the detainees from the Gaza Strip who are held in military facilities inside Israel, and to record them as due. HaMoked stresses that the conditions set by the state for tracing the whereabouts of Gaza detainees are unacceptable in the present situation, and recalls that the right to notification about a person's arrest and place of detention is a basic right of both the detainee and his relatives. This right is imperative for ensuring other rights, such as the right to counsel and intervention regarding incarceration conditions. HaMoked adds that a regime that fails to keep proper record of the holding place of detainees, and to supply up-to-date information based on its records, is betraying its duty and role.
The court ruled the state must respond to the petition by 10:00 a.m., August 1, 2014.
