A Christian family from Gaza were denied travel to the West Bank for Christmas after Israel claimed it would be used to stay there “illegally”
January 7, 2020. Some 1,100 Christians live in the Gaza Strip. Israel enforces a rigid permit regime that allows Christian residents of Gaza to travel to religious holy sites in the West Bank and Israel only twice a year, on Christmas and Easter. The process of receiving a permit to travel is simple in theory. The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories is supposed to release the permit quota for the holiday ahead of time in the Status of Authorizations document and list the eligibility criteria. In practice, however, time and again, the publication is delayed, leaving the Christian community in limbo. Often, permits are issued just before the holiday, or even after it, with no information as to why some applications were approved while others were denied, which sometimes occurs even within a nuclear family. The fact that permits are often issued at the last minute, prevents families from taking legal action against the state.
The story of the S. family illustrates the arbitrariness of Israel’s policy perfectly. In 2013, the father received a permit to exit the Gaza Strip with his children on Christmas and Easter. The mother received no permit. In 2014, the father and children received a permit only for Easter, while the mother, once again, stayed behind. In 2015, the entire family received a permit for Christmas, but when Easter came, once again, only the father and children got a permit. In 2016, the whole family received a permit for Easter. In 2017, the whole family was denied “for security reasons.” This refusal was challenged in a High Court petition, and before a hearing took place, the state backtracked and issued permits for the entire family. In 2018, the father and children received a permit for Christmas, but the mother’s application remained unanswered. In 2019, no member of the family received a response from Israeli authorities.
Ahead of Orthodox Christmas this year, which was celebrated on January 7, 2020, all members of the family were denied permits once again. The father was denied on alleged “security grounds,” and the mother was denied over, “concern the resident would abuse the permit for illegal stay.” Gisha filed a petition (Hebrew) against this refusal, arguing that the security block against the father was arbitrary. With regards to the mother, Gisha noted that while her brother and two sisters live in the West Bank, they hold “stay” permits that allow them to do so, adding that even if that had not been the case, denying her a permit over concerns about her relatives’ actions was unfounded and illegal.
On January 9, 2020, two days after the petition was filed, the state filed its response, in which it stated it would issue permits for all members of the family. However, the family still missed the chance to celebrate the holiday itself with their relatives in the West Bank as the permits were not issued in time for Orthodox Christmas.
