26.07.2006
The High Court of Justice (HCJ) has rejected a petition submitted by HaMoked demanding that a resident of the West Bank who was deported to the Gaza Strip be permitted to return to his home and family in Jenin: The Petitioner was held in administrative detention in Israel and “released” from prison directly to the Gaza Strip, on the grounds that his registered address is in this area, and accordingly he was an “illegal alien in the West Bank.” This despite the fact that residents of the Territories do not require authorization to live in the Territories or to change their place of residence, including between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, since both areas constitute a single territorial unit. The right to freedom of movement and the freedom to change one’s place of residence may be denied only on the basis of an assigned residence, which was not issued against the Petitioner. The HCJ declined to discuss these questions of principle
