Center for the Defence of the Individual - Following HaMoked’s petition: The military backtracks and allows a family from the West Bank to enter Gaza to visit an ailing daughter
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חזרה לעמוד הקודם
09.05.2015

Following HaMoked’s petition: The military backtracks and allows a family from the West Bank to enter Gaza to visit an ailing daughter

When a young woman who lives in Gaza was hospitalized for bypass surgery in early 2015, her parents and sister asked for a permit to travel from the West Bank to Gaza via Israel to visit her. On February 24, 2015, HaMoked contacted the military asking the family be permitted to enter Gaza. The military’s response arrived two months later, on April 26, 2015, stating the application had been denied. The military argued that the daughter was not undergoing prolonged hospitalization and her life was in no danger, therefore, the family’s application did not meet the stringent criteria for a permit to enter Israel for the purpose of travel to Gaza.

Following the refusal, HaMoked petitioned the HCJ on May 7, 2015, asking it to instruct the military to allow the family to travel to Gaza to visit their ailing daughter. HaMoked noted that Israel has long since recognized that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are an integral unit. HaMoked also stressed that the restrictions on travel between the two areas and stringent criteria for travel constitute a severe violation of Palestinians’ freedom of movement and right to family life, and recalled that about 18 months earlier, the military allowed the family to travel to Gaza under similar circumstances, when their daughter underwent a different operation.

On May 18, 2015, two days before the scheduled hearing, the state notified HaMoked the military had rescinded its refusal and would allow the family to enter Gaza. The petition was expunged at HaMoked’s request, but the court did criticize the state’s conduct, expressing regret that “once again, a petition was required”.

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