News Release: November 2, 2006

High Court Orders Military to Explain Sweeping Ban on Gaza Students Studying in West Bank Universities

Today, Thursday, Nov. 2, Israel's High Court ordered the military to issue a sworn statement explaining why it refuses to allow students from Gaza to study at West Bank universities. The decision came in response to petitions filed by Gisha, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, and Bituna, challenging a sweeping ban on travel by students from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, refusing to even consider requests from students seeking to reach their studies.

Thursday's decision came after a hearing in petitions by ten students from Gaza seeking to reach their occupational therapy studies at Bethlehem University, the only Palestinian institution to certify occupational therapists. The decision ordering the military to respond by sworn affidavit indicates that the justices were not satisfied by the military's arguments that all students from Gaza are potentially "dangerous".

Gisha argued that classifying individuals as "dangerous" based on demographic profiling is illegal.

The petitioners' position is that Israelis and Palestinians have a common interest in allowing young people to learn the skills they need to build a vibrant civil society and to offer badly needed rehabilitation services to Gaza residents – and that Israel has a legal obligation to permit the proper functioning of the health and educational system in the occupied territories. There is no program to study occupational therapy in Gaza, and there is only one certified working occupational therapist in Gaza.

Along with Gisha: Center for the Legal Protection of Freedom of Movement, which prepared the petitions, two Palestinian nonprofit organizations – both of whom need the services of trained occupational therapists for their care of the community in Gaza – joined the petitions: Gaza Community Mental Health Programme and Bitona for Community Development. The Mezan Center for Human Rights provided the students with legal assistance.

The High Court gave the state 45 days to respond by sworn affidavit, why it refuses to allow the ten occupational therapy students to reach their studies and why it refuses to even evaluate the requests of Gaza residents seeking to reach studies in the West Bank, where most Palestinian universities are located.

In the words of Prof. Kenneth Mann, Gisha's Legal Adviser: "Today's decision calls into question a disturbing attempt by the state to restrict fundamental rights to education, based on an illegal demographic profile."

Additional details: Eva Moussa, Gisha's Spokeswoman, 0525441389 or Sari Bashi, Director of Gisha, 03-6092183/054-2357579.