On January 22, 2018, the Minister of Interior issued a month-long “
Order Prohibiting Exit from the Country on Security Grounds” – under the Order Extending the Validity of the Emergency Regulations (Foreign Travel), 5709-1948 – against a resident of East Jerusalem who holds a senior position in the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. According to the order, the man “has ties with Hamas activists abroad”, and there is “real concern that his departure from the country would jeopardize the security of the State”. The order stated that the man could file an objection against the ban on his exit, and once it was considered, the Minister would consider whether to extend the order for an additional three months.
On January 30, 2018, HaMoked submitted an objection to the order, demanding its immediate cancellation due to the grave infringement of the man’s constitutional right to leave his country. Alternatively, HaMoked asked for the immediate disclosure of the grounds for the decision and the material underlying it, in order to allow the man to respond to the allegations against him, pursuant to the right to plead one’s case. HaMoked noted that in recent years the man had traveled abroad several times without any restriction. HaMoked emphasized that now the man wished to travel to Morocco to participate in an international book fair organized by the Moroccan Ministry of Culture and Communication, to which he was invited and where several books he authored would be exhibited.
Thereupon, on February 7, 2018, the Ministry of Interior issued
an update to the order prohibiting exit, whereby “after a consideration of his arguments and in light of the security officials’ position”, the man was permitted to leave for Morocco on the dates he requested, provided he undertook not to travel to other countries and to deposit a NIS 5,000 guarantee.
On the following day, once he agreed these terms, the man left the country on his way to Morocco.
