Gaza parents and guardians have new powers to block adult children or dependents from traveling, the territory’s Hamas rulers say, in a decision condemned by rights groups.
The ruling allows “males over the age of 18 to be banned from traveling by court order based on the wishes of the father or grandfather, and bans virgin, widowed, or divorced women from traveling without permission from a guardian,” the decision says.
“One of the parents or the grandfather may prevent a male child over the age of 18 from traveling if genuine harm will result from the travel, by bringing a case at the relevant court,” it says, without elaborating on what constitutes “genuine harm.”
A Palestinian pushes vegetables in front of a shop displaying Valentine’s day decorations, in Gaza City, on February 14, 2021. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)
The decision, authored by the head of the Supreme Sharia (Islamic law) Council in Gaza with immediate effect, was circulated in the Mediterranean enclave late Sunday, with no further explanation.
The secular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine condemns the edict as “a violation of basic Palestinian law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” The Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor says the measure is “a flagrant violation of the right to movement” and demands its immediate withdrawal.
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this