On November 13, 2014, HaMoked filed an
administrative appeal against the decision of the Ministry of Interior to deny an application filed by a resident of East Jerusalem for family unification with her husband, a West Bank resident, and their children.
In the appeal, HaMoked noted that in a previous hearing of an appeal on the same matter, the ministry denied that the fact that a Palestinian resident of the OPT has a magnetic card, which allows passage through the checkpoints separating between Israel and the OPT, proves that the person had passed security screening. HaMoked noted that in light of statements made by security officials during a classified part of the appeal hearing, the tribunal held that receipt of a magnetic card was not tantamount to security clearance to enter Israel.
HaMoked criticized the manner in which an unclassified issue of principle, such as the meaning and nature of the magnetic cards, was deliberated during a classified session, and ex parte. HaMoked conceded the possibility that magnetic cards are currently issued without security screening. However,
a 2011 procedure regulating the issuance of magnetic cards expressly states that: “the magnetic card will be issued to Judea and Samaria Area residents who are eligible to enter Israel”, and that in case there is a security impediment to entering Israel, the magnetic card will not be issued. HaMoked also quoted court rulings that expressly stated that a magnetic card indicates that there is no security impediment to allowing the holder to enter Israel. Specifically, HaMoked said that the man on whose behalf the appeal was filed, received a magnetic card at a time when security clearance was a condition for receiving same.
In a hearing of the appeal held on January 21, 2015, the State insisted that despite the language of the procedure and the rulings cited by HaMoked, the issuance of a magnetic card does not indicate that the holder had undergone security screening.
