In 1996, following the Interim Agreement, the Palestinian Authority began to enter  the children of residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) who are under the age of 16 in the population registry. Israel required the child's presence in the OPT upon registration. In October 2000, Israel stopped issuing visitor permits to the OPT, including those sought for the purpose of child registration. In 2005, following a string of petitions to the High Court of Justice (HCJ) filed by HaMoked, Israel relaxed its policy and announced it would permit visits for the purpose of child registration. The policy change was implemented slowly, and the military impeded its actualization.

AD was born to a Palestinian family living in Jordan. In December 2005, when AD was 15, his father - himself listed in the Palestinian population registry – applied for a visitor permit to the West Bank for AD in order to register him in the registry. The application was returned without reply or reasoning. Eight months later, HaMoked requested the military legal advisor for the West Bank to clarify the matter, and was informed that if the permit was not issued by the time AD turned 16, it would not be an impediment to his registration. A repeat application by HaMoked was also unanswered. In view of the urgency, HaMoked petitioned the HCJ demanding to allow the son to visit the OPT for his registration.

The petition put forth, inter alia, that the directives given to the civil administration clerks to refuse to accept applications from the Palestinian side, which derived from the government's decision of April 2006 to boycott the Palestinian Authority, do not pertain to AD's case, and as a child of a Palestinian, he was without doubt entitled to be registered in the population registry through the procedure for child registration.

Following the petition, the military informed it would process the request, despite the fact that AD had already turned 16. The military also informed that if the Palestinian side submitted a suitable request for AD's registration in the population registry, the Israeli side would process and approve it. AD applied for and received a visitor permit, and in July 2007, entered the West Bank and was registered in the Palestinian population registry.