03.11.2005

Following HaMoked's petition, a Gaza resident is allowed to travel through the Rafah Border Crossing to Egypt in order to donate a kidney to his brother, who urgently needs a kidney transplant: since the military's withdrawal from Gaza, the Rafah Crossing has been closed due to Israeli pressure and 1.5 million residents are left with no way out of sealed-off Gaza. HaMoked finds the state's response, which refers to the general arrangements for exiting Gaza, unsatisfactory and will not remove its petition at this time

On October, 11, 2005, HaMoked petitioned the High Court of Justice (HCJ), to allow a resident of Gaza to travel to Egypt, to donate a kidney to his brother who is hospitalized there, awaiting urgent kidney transplant. Medical tests showed the petitioner is a suitable donor; nonetheless, he was unable to reach Egypt, as the Rafah Crossing has been kept closed ever since the military withdrawal in early September 2005.
 
Israel acknowledges that the Rafah Crossing was sealed due to its insistence. In a letter to HaMoked, the HCJ department of the State Attorney's Office clearly states that "the objection of the State of Israel to the opening of the crossing derives from the intention to maintain minimal capabilities for supervising those who travel to or from the Gaza Strip to Egypt".

In result, as long as Israel maintains its total control on traffic into and out of Gaza, by air, sea, and the land crossings, it cannot dismiss the resulting repercussions on the human rights situation of the Gaza populace. Therefore, the petitioners demand the immediate formulation of temporary arrangements, allowing Gaza residents to travel abroad, if only in humanitarian cases, until the parties reach a permanent agreement.

Following the petition, on October 14, 2005, the state undertook to allow the petitioner to leave for Egypt via the Rafah Crossing. The state also notified that the military will favorably consider other humanitarian applications. The parties agreed to hold a hearing on the first week of November, after the state submits its response to the petition, addressing the general arrangements for exiting Gaza on October 31.

Follow-up:

On November 1, 2005, the state presented the HCJ with its supplementary response to the petition.  Although the state claims it no longer exercises any authority under security legislation, such as those relating to preventing entry to Gaza or allowing departure thereof, it nonetheless lists several temporary solutions to enable travel abroad, until a final agreement is signed on the opening of the Rafah Crossing.

To start, the state enumerates the five instances from the past month when the Rafah Crossing was opened by the Palestinians, in coordination with Israel. The state claims that on these dates when the crossing was open, more than 6,000 Palestinians were able to leave Gaza and travel abroad.

The state also claims that in humanitarian cases, even on days when the crossing is closed, residents will be allowed to travel out of Gaza through the Erez Crossing, from there, by secured transportation, to the Allenby Bridge Crossing, or, for the first time in years, through the Ben Gurion airport.  

HaMoked notified the court that it would monitor the implementation and stability of the solutions. HaMoked also stated that the constitutionality of the temporary arrangement would be examined relative to its duration, and the date of signing the permanent agreement on the crossing's operation. In the next two weeks, HaMoked will examine these two parameters and formulate its position.