In early December 2024, the Association for Civil Rights submitted several petitions regarding the Population and Immigration Authority's refusal to issue identity cards to Israeli citizens who were evacuated from the Gaza Strip during the war. These are women who were born and raised in Israel, hold Israeli citizenship, who married partners from Gaza and moved to live there, and who were evacuated with their children and returned to Israel after the outbreak of the war.
The Population and Immigration Authority had to already have approved and validated their entry through the border crossings. And yet, it is refusing to provide them with identity cards. The Authority is claiming that they can only issue the identity cards if the women prove that their lives are centered in Israel—even though it knows that these women are living in the country and have not left it—and it is demanding that they present dozens of documents that the Authority is well aware that they do not possess. Without an identity card, these women cannot work and support their children, open a bank account, receive health services and government services, rent an apartment, or create a sense of stability for themselves and their children.
The petition argues that the Population Authority's conduct has no legal basis: that it goes against judicial rulings and the Authority's own procedures; and is counter to administrative principles such as reasonableness, fairness, and proportionality. The petition further argues that, unlike many other cases when the State has rushed to help citizens in distress abroad, when it comes to women who were residents of Gaza, the State is suddenly imposing atypical conditions and making the process significantly more difficult.
Case 1131-12-24 Jane Doe v. Population and Immigration Authority - Ministry of Interior; Case 6257-12-24 Jane Doe v. Population and Immigration Authority - Ministry of Interior; and additional petitions
Attorneys: Reut Shaer, Oded Feller
Case 1131-12-24: The Petition (Heb)
Case 6257-12-24: The Petition (Heb)
