Gisha petition submitted to Israeli High Court to allow Gaza students to attend study overseas

Date: 23 / 10 / 2007 Time: 10:40

Bethlehem – Ma'an –

An appeal was submitted to the Israeli High Court of Justice on Monday on behalf of university students in the Gaza Strip who are denied permission to leave in order to pursue studies overseas.

Israeli human rights organisation Gisha: Legal Centre for the Freedom of Movement reported making the first request to Israel to cease collective punishment since the declaration of the Gaza Strip as 'hostile territory'.

Gisha submitted the petition on behalf of the students. Gisha reported that Israel has prohibited 670 students from Gaza from travelling to the US, Europe, Jordan, Asia and other destinations for higher education.

Gisha noted that "many of the students imprisoned in Gaza have already missed the start of the academic year at universities around the world." Furthermore, many could lose their places and scholarships at the universities.

Director of Gisha Sari Bashi said "preventing students from reaching their studies […] only hurts the interest we all share […] in allowing young people to acquire knowledge."

Israel has tightened restrictions on movement in and out of the Gaza Strip since declaring it a 'hostile territory'. The Israeli military cancelled a bus service that allowed students to leave Gaza through Erez Crossing

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