The director general of the Population and Immigration Authority confirmed today (Monday) in an affidavit to the Tel Aviv District Court that the authority violated the court's directive not to expel Ukrainian citizens whose entry was denied for 48 hours.
According to the decision of the Tel Aviv District Court, the Population and Immigration Authority explicitly violated the decision, according to which the citizens of Ukraine who were refused entry into Israel will not be expelled for 48 hours, to allow them to take legal action and subject the authority's decisions to judicial review.
Long hours of waiting.
Immigrants at Ben Gurion Airport, Photo: Coco
The decision was made as part of a request for temporary relief, on appeal by a mother and her minor daughter, Ukrainian citizens, who fled the war and arrived in Israel, and within a few hours it was decided to prevent their entry, and they were put on a plane and deported from Israel.
Only the mother's objection resulted in them being taken off the plane, and filed an appeal alleging that the authority violated the court's decision.
Judge Michal Agmon Gonen ruled in her decision: "It appears from the affidavit of the director general of the Immigration Authority that the authority violated the court's decision in at least 24 cases in which it expelled Ukrainian citizens whose entry was denied, without the refusal decision being subject to judicial review.
"The authority violated the court's decisions and managed to effectively prevent in those cases the citizens of Ukraine, who arrived while the war was raging in their country, the chance to change the decision given in their case in the courts."
Immigrants and refugees arrive at Ben Gurion Airport, Photo: Yossi Zeliger
It further ruled that although its decision to delay deportation was given in late March, the authority did not pass appropriate instructions to its employees at the airport so the deportations continued.
Only the filing of the appeal in another case, in which it was alleged that the petitioners were expelled contrary to the same guidelines, resulted in the breaches being exposed.
Judge Agmon Gonen added: "The Population and Immigration Authority ruled for itself and for ten days held hearings on whether to file a request for leave to appeal the decision in the Anastasia case, did not even bother to update the Authority's staff at Ben Gurion Airport regarding the court's instructions.
"In light of the above, and according to an affidavit filed by the PA now, the citizens of Ukraine were expelled immediately upon the decision to expel them, without this being a position for judicial review, and in clear violation of the court's decision."
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