On January 15, 2015,
HaMoked petitioned the HCJ to instruct the military to allow a Palestinian woman to travel from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank to visit her sick mother, who had been admitted to hospital in Ramallah. The petition was filed after all communications HaMoked sent to the army received no response. HaMoked argued that denying the application would constitute a severe violation of the right to family life and that Israel itself has recognized Gaza and the West Bank as a single territorial unit. HaMoked emphasized the importance of a speedy resolution to the petition, given the mother’s serious condition.
After the petition was filed, the military demanded HaMoked provide medical documents with more details on the mother’s condition. In its request for an extension, dated January 25, 2015, the state announced that the additional documents supplied by HaMoked were insufficient. On February 5, 2012, the state again said that the documents were insufficient. On February 22, 2015, the state apologized to the court for not having submitted its response to the petition, as it was required to do, three days earlier, adding that it still could not submit the response due to the strike declared by State Attorneys’ Association. Because of the delays, the court had to schedule the hearing for March 25, 2015.
The mother passed away on February 26, 2015. Her body was taken to Gaza for burial. Because of the military’s and the state’s foot dragging, the daughter was not able to say goodbye to her mother before she died. On March 8, 2015, the court accepted HaMoked’s motion to withdraw the petition.
