Gisha application under the Freedom of Information Act leads to exposure of documents detailing the army’s policy on movement of people and goods in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

June 24, 2013. On June 10th of this year, The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) provided Gisha with 429 pages of documents listing the various restrictions that were imposed on the movement of people and goods in Gaza from 2011 up until May 6, 2013. The documents were provided following Gisha’s request under the Freedom of Information Act 5758-1998 (Hebrew) to COGAT to disclose what are known as the "Closure Permissions Status" documents. These documents contain the orders that detail what restrictions apply on the passage of goods and movement of people at any given time.

The very fact that such documents exist was first exposed as part of a petition filed by Gisha (AP 22775-02-11) (Hebrew). At that point, the documents that were produced detailed access restrictions imposed on Gaza between 2005 and 2011. In the current Freedom of Information application, Gisha asked for documents pertaining to the period beginning on the date of the last document that was provided in the petition and ending on the date of the response to the application.

The 429 pages of "Closure Permissions Status" documents also detail information about movement policy in the West Bank, including: the number of Palestinians permitted to work in Israel and in the settlements, the number of Palestinian merchants permitted to do business in Israel, criteria for permitting Palestinian residents to worship at the Al Aqsa mosque, a list of exceptional groups that are permitted entry into East Jerusalem and more.

The "Closure Permissions Status" documents, as received in response to the Freedom of Information application, are available in Hebrew and listed by date here.

2012
Closure Permissions Status 20.2.2012
Closure Permissions Status 15.4.2012
Closure Permissions Status 8.5.2012
Closure Permissions Status 21.6.2012
Closure Permissions Status 4.7.2012
Closure Permissions Status 9.8.2012
Closure Permissions Status 6.9.2012
Closure Permissions Status 23.9.2012
Closure Permissions Status 17.12.2012
Closure Permissions Status 18.12.2012
Closure Permissions Status 24.12.2012
Closure Permissions Status 31.12.2012

Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement.

Gisha application under the Freedom of Information Act leads to exposure of documents detailing the army’s policy on movement of people and goods in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

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