HaMoked in an urgent letter to the military: cancel the new instruction prohibiting the entry of Israeli citizens and residents into the Gaza Strip

Residents of the Gaza Strip who are married to citizens or residents of Israel are not permitted to live with their spouses in Israel, due to the limitations imposed by the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order), 2003. The Israeli spouses are therefore forced to split their lives between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and rely on military approval to enter Gaza, even for the purpose of a short visit to their homes in Gaza. As if it weren't enough that families are forced to live separately, from time to time the military announces a sudden freeze on the entry of Israelis into the Gaza Strip, thus deepening the harm to the basic rights of Palestinians to family life.

On October 18, 2018, in a phone call with a representative of HaMoked, the military announced that, based on a security guideline from the previous day, no Israelis can enter the Gaza Strip "until further notice". On the same day, HaMoked submitted an urgent letter to the military, claiming that the new instruction seriously harms the rights of citizens and residents of Israel who have a spouse or children in the Gaza Strip. HaMoked emphasized that the State previously committed, before the Supreme Court, to enable the entry of Israelis into Gaza even during times of conflict, so long as there is no individual security preclusion against them. Finally, HaMoked claimed that it is unreasonable that a decision of this kind, which impacts the lives of so many, was not published in the media and its content was not brought to the attention of human rights organizations who represent Israelis who wish to enter Gaza.

In the letter, HaMoked demanded that the details of the military's decision be sent to it and made publicly available, and asked that the military reconsider its sweeping decision due to its grave implications for families that are split between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and for citizens and residents of Israel who wish to visit relatives in Gaza on humanitarian grounds.

Following HaMoked's letter, in an additional conversation between a representative of HaMoked and the military on October 21, 2018, the military stated that the harmful new instruction had been cancelled.