Since the outbreak of the war, Israel has not accepted applications from Palestinians in the West Bank for permits to visit their families in Israel. As a result of this sweeping policy, parents cannot visit with their children or provide for them, and first-degree family members cannot help ill family members in need of medical care.
On July 18, 2024, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice on behalf of nine families, one member of whom is a resident of the West Bank who had been separated from their family for nearly ten months. In some cases, the families include children that were born after the outbreak of the war, resulting in the complete separation of these children from their fathers. In other cases, there are minors with special needs whose separation from their parent causes them distress and difficulty.
The petition argues that the Civil Administration's policy is illegal and violates the rights to family life and equality, as well as the rights and welfare of minors. We demanded that the State explain why it does not allow Palestinian residents of the West Bank who have relatives living in Israel to apply for permits to visit family members, and why, in violation of the law, it does not examine the applications.
In response to the petition, the Civil Administration informed the court that it had amended its policies (Heb) and that it would allow Palestinian family members of citizens and permanent residents living in Israel to submit requests to visit Israel. However, the policy states that the permits will only be granted if it is proven that there is an "objective impediment" to the visits taking place in the West Bank. In the response we submitted to the court on November 14, 2024, we pointed out that this demand is absurd and has no basis in reality, and that it maintains the status quo in which withholding the permit is the rule and granting of the permit is only done in exceptional cases.
HCJ 5875/24 John Doe v. Commander of IDF Forces in Judea and Samaria
The petition, July 18, 2024 (Hebrew)
For the full legal correspondence (Hebrew)
The petition was written with the assistance of intern Elza Bugnet