العربية
HE
العربية
HE
On 6 November 2007, a Palestinian resident of Hebron arrived at the DCO in the city to find out what had happened to his application for his wife and their four children to be permitted to return to their home in the West Bank from the Gaza Strip, where they have been present since August 2006. The family traveled to the Gaza Strip for a family visit, since when the couple has repeatedly asked that the mother and four children be permitted to return home. The woman’s applications have gone unanswered, and all the husband’s requests to the Hebron DCO have met with the same response: “the matter is being processed.”
The officer at the Hebron DCO who processed the case claimed that according to their records, the man’s wife and children had not traveled to the Gaza Strip with a DCO issued permit. The complainant confirmed the officer’s comment, and added that his wife had indeed entered the Gaza Strip via Rafah Crossing. The officer replied that in that case “she must also leave via Rafah Crossing.” The man replied that as everyone was aware, Rafah Crossing was closed. The officer then informed him, “in that case, she should cross through the tunnels!” To make her point clearer, she reiterated, “let her cross through the tunnels, under the ground!” She then laughed heartily.
After the complainant told the officer that he intended to complain about her behavior, she claimed that she was “only kidding.” She did not show flexibility, however, and on the refusal form for his application she wrote (as she had told him): “the above-mentioned left via Rafah so she must return from there.”
On10 December 2007 HaMoked filed a complaint with the commander of the Hebron DCO concerning the officer’s comments. HaMoked demanded that the incident be investigated and immediate steps taken to prevent the recurrence of such behavior.
On 24 December 2007 a reply was received from the head of the Civil Administration, stating that the investigation following HaMoked’s complaint had revealed that the officer had acted in an improper and unworthy manner. The officer had been called to the head of the Civil Administration, who had made it clear that he viewed her behavior as a failure in terms of values and professionalism. It was further decided that the officer would be removed from her position in the Hebron DCO.
To view the letter from the head of the Civil Administration dated 24 December 2007 (Hebrew)
To view HaMoked’s letter dated 10 December 2007 (Hebrew)
To view an article from Ha’aretz dated 1 January 2008 (Hebrew)
