In 1999, a Palestinian, resident of the Gaza Strip travelled to the West Bank through the "safe passage". The man settled down in Tulkarm, where he found a job and even established his family. However, due to
Israel's policy – which separates between the parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), and the freeze which was imposed by Israel on the change of address from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank in the Population Register – he was unable to change his registered address in the Population Register in a manner which would correctly reflect the situation. In 2009 the man was deported from his home in the West Bank – only because of his registered residential address, which was incorrect due to Israel's intentional policy – to the Gaza Strip, where he has been living since then, distanced from his wife and children.
In June 2012 his wife, who could no longer bear the long separation from her husband, travelled to Jordan, crossed over to Egypt and entered the Gaza Strip through Rafah Crossing. She stayed with her husband several months, and returned to her home in the West Bank to give birth to their third son. In the beginning of 2014, when it turned out that the baby who was born suffered from a life threatening genetic disease, the man contacted the IDF – through HaMoked – and requested permission to visit his son, possibly for the only time in his life. The request was denied for "security reasons", as well as a petition which was filed by HaMoked on his behalf.
On October 29, 2014, after the condition of the baby deteriorated,
HaMoked turned again to the IDF and requested to enable the man to travel from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank to visit his son. Despite the difficult circumstances, the military disregarded the request for many weeks. In response to telephone inquires made by it, HaMoked was told by IDF representatives that the matter was "under review".
On December 15, 2014, the baby passed away in a hospital in Tulkarm, before his father had the opportunity to see him. On that same day
HaMoked filed an urgent petition with the High Court of Justice, and requested to order the military to allow the passage of the man to the West Bank, to enable him to participate in the funeral of his deceased son, and see him for the first and last time.
During the hearing in the petition, on December 16, 2014, HaMoked emphasized that the man was willing to abide by any condition which would be imposed on him, if he was only allowed to bid his dead son farewell. The military, on its part, vehemently objected to the passage due to security reasons, and added that if the man was allowed to enter the West Bank, it would be difficult to ensure that he indeed returned to the Gaza Strip as soon as the visit ended.
The court – as always – accepted the military's position in its entirety and
denied the petition. However, the Justices noted in their judgment that "should the petitioner's wife… submit an application to visit him in the Gaza Strip together with the spouses' children, the application would be examined according to the rules, with a positive attitude."
