Following petition, Israel allows a mother and her four children to return home to the West Bank from the Gaza Strip

The petitioner lives in Jericho with her spouse and four children. On March 12, 2020, she entered the Gaza Strip with her children to attend her brother’s wedding. She was pregnant at the time.

Shortly after they entered the Strip, Israel closed Erez Crossing in response to the coronavirus. The petitioner, who was planning to return home shortly after the wedding, was stranded in the Gaza Strip. Her spouse contacted the Palestinian coordination office in Ramallah to arrange for her return with the children in April and again in May. He was told the application had been forwarded to the Israeli side, but no response was given. In June, the petitioner made another application through Gisha. In its letter to the authorities, Gisha stressed that the petitioner’s return to the West Bank with her children should be arranged urgently, as she was nearing the end of her pregnancy and wished to have the baby with her spouse by her side.

Israel ignored these letters, forcing Gisha to file a petition (Hebrew) on June 23, 2020, in which we argued that in ignoring the petitioner’s applications and dragging its feet, the state violated her right to return to her home and her right to family life. Gisha argued this was an abdication of the duty incumbent on an administrative authority to act fairly and process applications within an appropriate time frame.

On July 1, 2020, counsel for the state notified Gisha that the petitioner and her children would be able to return home the next day. On July 2, 2020, after the petitioner arrived at Erez Crossing and received a permit to transit to the West Bank, we notified the court that upon receipt of the remedy sought, we requested to have the petition deleted (Hebrew).