العربية
HE
العربية
HE
On January 11, 2026, the Supreme Court accepted the State’s position and upheld the deportation of M., a Palestinian who was born in Gaza and lived in the West Bank for 19 years to Gaza, despite credible threats to his life in Gaza, and the fact that he has two children who are Israeli citizens. The ruling, which followed an appeal by HaMoked, constitutes another step in the State’s ongoing efforts to maintain a separation between the West Bank and Gaza, even at risk to human life. These efforts have intensified since the outbreak of the war in October 2023.
Over the years, Israel has adopted a policy of increasing separation between residents of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, who remain closely connected through family and personal ties. As part of this policy, in 2000, the Israeli military “froze” the address registrations of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Since then, Palestinians have not been permitted to change their registered address from Gaza to the West Bank, regardless of where they actually live their lives.
At the same time, following Hamas’s rise to power, a small number of Gaza residents managed to move to the West Bank, including people whose lives were under credible threat due to the regime change. Many settled in the West Bank but could not update their registered address. These contradictory decisions by the state created a group of people who have lived and built their lives in the West Bank for decades but are still officially considered Gaza residents.
One such individual is M., who contacted HaMoked in 2024 while incarcerated in Israel, seeking to prevent his deportation to Gaza upon release from prison. M. was born in Gaza and moved to the West Bank in 2007 after Hamas took power, using a one-day permit issued by the military to allow him to flee threats to his life. Since then, M. has resided in the West Bank and lived his life there. While residing in the West Bank, M. entered and remained in Israel unlawfully at times, during which he married an Israeli citizen, now his ex-wife, and fathered two Israeli children. Notably, because M.’s registered address is in Gaza, he is virtually unable to enter Israel legally. In fact, even after a court recognized him as the legal guardian of his children and ordered visitation arrangements, M. was rarely able to obtain entry permits and was forced to enter Israel unlawfully to visit his children.
Due to his unlawful presence in Israel and additional criminal offenses, M. was jailed several times. In 2024, during his most recent incarceration, M. was informed that upon release he would be deported to Gaza.
On August 29, 2024, HaMoked filed an urgent administrative petition with the Jerusalem District Court seeking the revocation of the deportation order and requesting an interim injunction to prevent his immediate deportation. The petition stressed that deporting M. would violate his most fundamental right, the right to life, given the real and documented threats facing him in Gaza, including the killing of family members due to their association with him. Additionally, HaMoked pointed to the severe violation of M.’s right to family life and the principle of the best interests of the child. Even if M. were to survive in Gaza, deportation would effectively sever the relationship between M. and his children, as they would be unable to visit him at all.
The petition was dismissed by the District Court in a ruling that fully adopted the state’s position. On January 15, 2025, HaMoked filed an administrative appeal with the Supreme Court, requesting to overturn the District Court’s ruling and prevent M.’s deportation. In a judgment delivered on January 11, 2026, one year after the appeal was filed, the Supreme Court found no fault in the District Court’s ruling and approved the deportation.
This ruling, which joins a similar decision from December 11, 2024, permitting the deportation of a West Bank resident to Gaza (AAA 70079-11-24), indicates a continuing trend of deporting West Bank residents with registered addresses in the Gaza Strip, a registration error deliberately preserved by the state. These residents, whose number is estimated in the tens of thousands, are at constant risk of deportation from the place where they have lived for years.
In M.’s case, this threat materialized, leading to particularly devastating consequences: deportation to a disaster-stricken and war-torn area where there are tangible threats to his life, banishment from the place where he lived for 19 years, and separation from his children.
