Center for the Defence of the Individual - HaMoked has petitioned the High Court of Justice (HCJ) demanding that a Palestinian living in Beit Lahiya be permitted to leave the Gaza Strip and travel via Israel to Ramallah in order to undergo an operation to restore the sight in his left eye: A mortar fired by the military while the family were sitting on the roof of their home injured the petitioner and killed his brother and uncle
العربية HE wheel chair icon
חזרה לעמוד הקודם
15.01.2008

HaMoked has petitioned the High Court of Justice (HCJ) demanding that a Palestinian living in Beit Lahiya be permitted to leave the Gaza Strip and travel via Israel to Ramallah in order to undergo an operation to restore the sight in his left eye: A mortar fired by the military while the family were sitting on the roof of their home injured the petitioner and killed his brother and uncle

The petitioner, a Palestinian resident of Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip, is employed as a maintenance worker in the UN relief agency UNRWA. In October 2004 he was sitting with his family on the roof of their home when an Israeli mortar suddenly struck the building. The petitioner’s brother and uncle were killed and other members of the family were injured. The petitioner sustained injuries to all parts of his body, including serious injury to his face caused by shrapnel. Since the incident the petitioner has been blind in his left eye. 

As the military refused to provide entry permits to Israel for the petitioner and his brother, who accompanies him, in order to travel from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, the operation has already been postponed four times since November 2007 and is now scheduled for 20 January 2008. This operation is one in a series of operations and treatments the petitioner has undergone in Jordan and Israel in order to remove shrapnel from his face and eye and restore his sight. The petitioner has already entered Israel several times in order to receive treatment, using entry permits and with the authorization of OC Southern Command. Despite the treatments the condition of his eye deteriorated. The petitioner underwent a cornea transplant in Jordan. In order to complete the treatment, an artificial lens must now be implanted in his eye and accordingly he was referred for an operation at Amsalam eye hospital in Ramallah.  

The petitioner submitted four requests to the Israeli side to enable him to travel to Ramallah. Three of these went unanswered, while the fourth was rejected for a “security” reason. Requests submitted through Physicians for Human Rights-Israel were also rejected. The military’s behavior is strange since, despite the closure of the crossings following the violent events in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the military has enabled Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in urgent medical cases. Indeed, since June 2007 some 9,000 Palestinians have left the Gaza Strip to undergo medical treatment. 

The military’s refusal to permit the petitioner to enter Israel in order to cross to the West Bank constitutes a grave violation of Israel’s obligations as the belligerent and occupying power in the Gaza Strip. The Hague Regulations and the Fourth General Convention impose a clear obligation on Israel to ensure the well-being and security of protected residents in the Gaza Strip. The injury to the petitioner’s right to freedom of movement, health, dignity, and life is a grave one and, of course, it is also prohibited under Israeli law. 

To view the petition dated 9 January 2008 (Hebrew)

Related documents

No documents to show