Center for the Defence of the Individual - Following a petition submitted by HaMoked, the Ministry of Interior decided to formalize the status of a Palestinian living in East Jerusalem and to grant him temporary resident status for two years: HaMoked petitioned the court on behalf of the young man, whose parents and siblings are all Israeli residents, after several applications for family unification on his behalf went unanswered
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חזרה לעמוד הקודם
30.05.2007

Following a petition submitted by HaMoked, the Ministry of Interior decided to formalize the status of a Palestinian living in East Jerusalem and to grant him temporary resident status for two years: HaMoked petitioned the court on behalf of the young man, whose parents and siblings are all Israeli residents, after several applications for family unification on his behalf went unanswered

Before HaMoked intervened in his case, the petitioner had no legal status anywhere in the world. A stateless person lives a haunted, brutal life, liable to be stopped and held on suspicion of being unlawfully present and subject to the constant threat of deportation. He cannot obtain insurance in an HMO; cannot make a decent living for himself or establish a family. He is not entitled to inherit his parents’ belongings officially or register property in his own name. A stateless person is a person whose rights and liberties are denied and whose dignity is trampled. The right of every person to legal status is a basic right derived from the right to dignity and liberty. Legal status forms a vital and basic component in human identity, ensuring an initial starting point for the individual claiming his or her rights. 

The petitioner was born into a disadvantaged family. His mother soon died of cancer, and his father spent many years in prison and in rehabilitation programs. At the age of three he was removed from his mother’s custody and placed in residential schools in Jerusalem. A long time passed before welfare workers and officials in the educational institutions he attended, took steps to address his lack of status. Thereupon, the court ordered a tissue analysis to perfomed, which proved to be impossible due to his mother's death and the lack of contact with his father. In fact, there was no real need for such a test, since the petitioner’s birth certificate clearly states the names of both his parents. 

Requests by the petitioner, his sister, and HaMoked to the Ministry of the Interior, met with no real answer for a time. Until the petition was filed, the Ministry of the Interior declined to formalize the petitioner’s status, contrary to its obligations as a governmental authority charged with protecting human life, dignity, and person. 

Only after HaMoked had filed the petition, the Ministry of the Interior announced on 18 April, 2007, the acceptance of the petitioner’s application for temporary residency for a two year period. After which, he will receive permanent status, provided there is no security or criminal prevention, and subject to his center of life remaining in Israel. 

Read the petition dated 17 October 2006 (Hebrew) 

Read the Ministry of the Interior’s notification dated 18 April 2007 (Hebrew)

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