On April 14, 2016,
HaMoked filed a High Court petition against the unacceptable practice of confiscating personal property, without records or documentation provided to the owners, during nocturnal arrest and search raids the Israeli military conducts in the OPT.
In its
response to the petition, dated January 1, 2017, the stated said the military had updated its protocols on searches of Palestinian homes in the OPT –
after HaMoked's petition was filed. According to the response, in May 2016, a provision stipulating a duty “to provide the occupants of the home with a copy of the seizure report, attesting to the possessions that had been seized… unless there is a clear security need precluding provision of the report copy”. Later, in August 2016, another protocol was updated, stipulating: “The owners of the items must be provided with a notification regarding seizure of goods, in Arabic, detailing all items seized, the reason for the seizure and the telephone number of the office of the Judea and Samaria Legal Advisor”.
On January 25, 2017, the state announced that where no written documentation is provided to the owners of the confiscated items, as required by protocol, the owners would be able to contact their local District Coordination Office or the office of the Judea and Samaria Legal Advisor. It is clear, however, that even if West Bank residents have the option of contacting the military to request their personal property be returned to them, there is no guarantee that the request would be processed appropriately, or processed at all, and no guarantee that the items would be returned to their rightful owners.
On January 29, 2017, the petition was deleted from the court docket by consent. HaMoked reserves the right to petition the court should the protocols not be followed, or implement in a partial or deficient manner.
