On January 25, 2017,
the minister of interior announced he had revoked the Israeli status held by the family of a man who committed an attack against Israelies in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon HaNatziv on January 8, 2017. The day after the announcement, on January 26, 2017,
HaMoked made an application to the appeals tribunal, seeking to prevent the relatives’ deportation and an order revoking the wrongful decision. The appeal was scheduled for a hearing on September 10, 2017.
On August 30, 2017, Im Tirtzu and the mother of one of the victims of the attack
filed a motion to be named parties to the proceedings, so that they may be able to state their positions on the matter.
In its
response to the motion, filed on August 31, 2017, HaMoked asked the tribunal to dismiss it in limine. One of the arguments made by HaMoked was that the objectives pursued by Im Tirtzu have nothing to do with the main issue discussed in the proceedings, which relates to the individual rights of the assailant’s relatives, and that it was unclear what contribution adding the organization to the proceedings would make. HaMoked also argued that it is unclear which of the bereaved parents’ rights might be harmed should they not be named parties to the proceeding, given that the case does not relate to the assailant himself or the denial of his rights, and that his relatives, who are the subject of the proceedings, stand accused of nothing. HaMoked also noted that motions of this sort should be filed as soon as possible rather than a short time before the hearing, some eight months after the appeal was filed, and that at this late stage, there is no justification to add more parties.
HaMoked asserted that adding the applicants would not only fail to help the proceedings in any way, but might in fact hinder the ability to keep the hearing focused on the relevant issues, and may interfere with it.
