Back to Gaza
February 15, 2015. After Hamas took over, Hanan left Gaza. She did not imagine that for seven years Israel would not let her return there and see her husband
Read More »
Gisha in Action
2015
2014
Your mother passed away? Please wait here
December 31, 2014. Samah’s mother passed away, and she spent the first day of mourning on a bench at the DCO. She received a permit to visit with her grieving family in Gaza only the next day. COGAT: “All the necessary conclusions were drawn”.
Read More »
Received passports, but were compelled to leave their family
October 26, 2014. Two sisters born in Gaza to an Israeli mother are, by law, Israeli citizens themselves. Due to registration problems, they lived for years without any official documentation: neither Palestinian nor Israeli. Following Gisha’s intervention, they received Israeli passports but had to leave their home.
Read More »
She wanted to stay a little longer with her father and got stranded in Gaza.
May 28, 2014. When Sara (not her real name) decided to spend more time with her father in the Gaza Strip, she didn’t know Rafah Crossing would close and that she would end up staying in Gaza for much longer than expected
Read More »
Military changes procedure in order to justify its refusal to allow a British student to enter the Gaza Strip
February 25, 2014. A British student requested to travel to Gaza in order to complete his research. Since the existing procedure allowed him to enter, the military decided to change the procedure.
Read More »
The unbearable lightness of imposing a security block
February 12, 2014. When a Palestinian from Gaza is branded with a security block or preclusion, he or she is not allowed to travel to Israel or the West Bank. It often seems that security preclusions are issued arbitrarily and en masse.
Read More »
2013
In Gaza a scholarship is worth more than just money
During the past months, Gisha received a deluge of inquiries from students stuck in Gaza as a result of restricted travel at the Rafah crossing. Here are the stories of two of these students.
Read More »
Why were 18 human rights advocates from Gaza denied permits to attend a meeting in the West Bank?
Eighteen delegates from organizations that work in the Gaza Strip were invited to attend a UN-sponsored meeting in the West Bank but the army refused to let them travel. Who does this serve? It’s not clear.
Read More »
Traveling out of Gaza isn’t easy, even if you’re just a kid who wants to play music
We tried to help 47 children from Gaza go to music summer camp in the West Bank, and found out that it wasn’t as simple as we thought it would be
Read More »
Ms. Khalil’s courageous decision
Ms. Khalil faced a dilemma: stay in Gaza and never see her family in Israel again or enter Israel and risk not being able to return to her family in the Gaza Strip. She chose to fight.
Read More »
Squeezing past the criteria: How Mr. Awad travelled between Gaza and the West Bank
Though Israel does not allow people to travel from Gaza to the West Bank for the purpose of running professional training seminars, as a result of Gisha’s efforts, Mr. Awad received an exit permit. More proof that the restrictive policy on paper isn’t necessarily relevant to the reality of how it’s implemented on the ground.
Read More »
Following Gisha’s activities: The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories begins publishing procedures and protocols on its website
The Freedom of Information Act stipulates that public authorities must publish the procedures and protocols that govern their operations. How is it, then, that there are more COGAT procedures and protocols on Gisha’s website than on COGAT’s own website? Take a peek into the Sisyphean battle it takes to get the authorities to obey a simple legal provision.
Read More »
Twenty-six women from Gaza were able to participate in a conference about increasing women’s political participation which took place in the West Bank
Thirty-four women requested to travel to a conference about women’s political participation held in the West Bank. After a long bureaucratic process, 26 of them were able to travel, thanks to Gisha.
Read More »
2012
How hard can it be to get to band camp?
Last April, Gaza music students did not make it out of Gaza in time to participate in a music competition in the West Bank. This time, the students, who attend the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music were able to go to the West Bank with four chaperones for ten days.
Read More »
Eleven staff members of a multi-purpose center promoting the protection and empowerment of women and families receive permits to travel to the West Bank for professional training
Following Gisha’s intervention, the military allowed most of the center’s staff members to travel for professional training. Four security guards and the housemother did not receive permits, based on the claim they did not require training.
Read More »