A physician from the West Bank, working at the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem, wishing to meet her young children again after several years, sought to enter the Gaza Strip, where they with her ex husband. As a resident of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), the mother requires no permit to stay in Gaza, and as she is allowed into Israel, requested – via HaMoked – to have her entry through the Erez Border Crossing coordinated, simply to avoid needless difficulties and a waste of time during actual passage. The Gaza District Coordination Office (DCO) notified she must apply to the DCO in her home area – which a few days before had already rejected a similar application.
On January 10, 2011,
HaMoked petitioned the High Court of Justice to order the military to allow the mother to visit her children in Gaza. HaMoked pointed out that Palestinians are required to hold a permit to enter Israel just to pass through en route from the West Bank to Gaza. Hence, already holding such a permit, the petitioner did not require any other military permit, but rather advance coordination of her exit from Israel to Gaza. HaMoked added that the military's objection to the petitioner's passage to visit her young children, was unreasonable, disproportionate and unauthorized, and constituted wrongful discrimination and the abuse of the petitioner’s rights to family life and freedom of movement, guaranteed under international humanitarian law and Israeli law.
In its response, the state claimed that the refusal of the doctor's entry to Gaza was stemmed from the Israeli policy to effect a "separation" between the West Bank and Gaza, and so restrict possible travel in between “to humanitarian and extraordinary cases only […] such that family ties do not constitute sufficient reason to permit the passage". Furthermore, the state argued that insofar as the petitioner's request to travel across to Gaza was concerned, the fact that she has a permit to stay in Israel was completely irrelevant, having been granted only for the purpose of her work in Israel. The state scornfully suggested that if she so wished, the petitioner might request to transfer her center of life to Gaza.
In the hearing, the Supreme Court expressed stern disapproval of the military’s policy. Among other things, Justice Edmond Levy remarked to the state representative that “every policy requires intelligence whereas here the decision lacks intelligence. Why is it impossible to allow a mother to see her children whom she has not seen for several years? If you say a security problem, I will understand, but I need a solution and not an unintelligent policy”. At the close of the hearing, the justices instructed the state to re-examine its position in this case.
On June 13, 2011, following the hearing and the justices' remarks therein,
the military announced its “ex gratia” decision to allow the mother to enter Gaza and meet her children. The particular case was resolved, and so HaMoked requested to withdraw the petition. Nonetheless, Israel continues to implement its ludicrous policy, whereby many Palestinians are allowed to enter and stay in Israel, but are forbidden entry into the Gaza Strip, all on account of alleged security reasons.
