A Palestinian woman from the Gaza Strip married an Israeli citizen in 1987 and received permanent residency status in Israel. She visited her family in the Gaza Strip over the years, returning to Israel at the end of each visit. In 2000, her husband passed away. She has since entered Gaza twice with Israeli approval, first in 2003 and then again, in 2006, when she went to Gaza to take care of her sick mother. At the end of the visit, when she wanted to return to Israel, the authorities refused.
In 2010, the woman requested HaMoked's assistance in returning to her home in Israel. On July 4, 2010,
in response to HaMoked's inquiry, the army said that the woman had no status in Israel and that she was a resident of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian side, however, claimed the woman had no status in the Gaza Strip. To find out why the woman's status in Israel had been undermined, HaMoked contacted the Ministry of Interior.
In its response, the Ministry of Interior claimed that the woman's Israeli status was revoked in 2004, since she "had disobeyed the orders of the Officer in Command and was living and maintaining a center-of-life in the Gaza Strip". The ministry confirmed that she left for the Gaza Strip in 2006 and said she did not contact the Israeli population authority with a request to return until 2011, and that in their view, this justified the revocation of her status back in 2004 and proved that her center-of-life was in Gaza.
On December 18, 2012,
HaMoked appealed the Ministry of Interior's decision. HaMoked argued that at the time the ministry claims her status was revoked, in 2004, the woman was in Israel. In addition, when she entered the Gaza Strip in 2006 to care for her mother, she was issued a permit identical to those issued for Israeli residents and no mention was made of the status revocation. HaMoked stated that in any event, the woman's actions did not meet the conditions required for revoking Israeli residency under the Entry into Israel Regulations (i.e., absence from Israel for 7 consecutive years or receipt of status in a foreign country). HaMoked demanded the Ministry of Interior reconsider its decision and reinstate the woman's permanency resident status.
About six months after the appeal was filed, HaMoked filed an application to the Foreigners' Appellate Committee for non-response. In the application, HaMoked repeated its arguments, underscoring the issues that arise from the account given by the ministry with respect to the reasons for the status revocation and the ministry's negligent conduct in processing the woman's case from the time it was taken over by HaMoked. On December 24, 2013, more than three years after HaMoked was contacted by the woman - who has been forced to remain in Gaza in the interim -
the population authority announced that it would reinstate the woman's status in Israel.
And so, without explanation or apology, the Ministry of Interior practically admits that Israel has forced a woman to remain in the Gaza Strip against her will and prevented her from returning home to Israel without justification.
