Wake Up Palestine – Foul Play Expected in Withdrawal of Palestinian Residencies in Jerusalem
The National Insurance Institute's refusal raises suspicions that the decision’s motives are political, and have nothing to do with the criteria for determining residency; The court criticizes the National Insurance Institute and orders it to transfer the information within a month
Jerusalem24 – The National Insurance Institute (NII) refused to disclose information to the Center for the Defense of the Individual – HaMoked regarding its decision to withdraw residency from seven Palestinian families from Jerusalem.
Although it is obligated to do so under the Freedom of Information Act, According to the “HaMoked” Center, the issue of not providing the information so far is due to the fact that the residency revocation of these families was carried out without a fair procedure, and in an illegal manner. The court judge criticized the NII’s refusal and ordered it to transfer the requested information by May 1.
In a recent session held at the Central Court in Jerusalem to consider a petition submitted by HaMoked representing Palestinian families demanding that all information regarding the withdrawal of their residency by the NII be disclosed.
In May of last year, 20 Jerusalemites discovered that their names and the names of their family members had been withheld on the computers of the National Insurance. Most of them and their family members were not notified of the matter before their rights were withdrawn, and they only discovered this when they tried to obtain medical treatment at the Health Maintenance Organization.
Despite the institution’s decision to restore the right of residence, the “HaMoked” Center decided to petition before the court, asking the National Insurance Institute to disclose the information that prompted it to make its decision. This is for the purpose of revealing that the decision in all cases was not legal and was not based on “center of life” considerations, which are the only relevant considerations. Rather, it seems to stem from the desire of the Shin Bet and the police to collectively punish those they considered Jerusalem activists .
This assessment was reinforced during the court’s recent hearing, when the National Insurance Institute admitted, for the first time, that it was receiving information from the Shin Bet as part of its follow-up to Palestinian residents of Jerusalem. Although the National Insurance Institute claims that the failure to disclose information was caused by a human error, and that this delay in disclosing the information is just a delay, the judge criticized the institution’s behavior. In a court decision, the National Insurance Institute was ordered to pay extraordinary expenses of 7,000 shekels, in addition to ordering the submission of the required information by May 1.
Jesica Montell, General Director of the HaMoked Center, said: “The National Insurance Institute is an organization with a social function only, and its function is to care for well-being and economic security. Despite this, there is a great fear that this role will be used in Jerusalem to prosecute And collectively punishing entire families. “HaMoked” will continue to work for these families, and will continue to demand accountability so that this illegal act is not repeated.”
