Allow Palestinians to enter Israel for Remembrance Day ceremony - NGOs to High Court

After Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s decision to not allow Palestinians into Israel to participate in a binational Remembrance Day ceremony over security concerns, two NGOs on Wednesday petitioned the High Court of Justice to allow their attendance.

Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle-Families Forum asked the High Court to rule against Gallant’s decision, which includes a general closure of the West Bank for Remembrance Day and Independence Day due to the security situation.

Both NGOs promote Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation. The petitioners said the decision was a violation of freedom of expression and against democratic values because it denied families the right to express their grief and impeded the goal to facilitate peace and reconciliation.

“Although there were those who painted him as the hero of democracy, we see that Gallant continues the line of the extreme government in disdain for the High Court and freedom of expression,” Combatants for Peace said. “It’s a shame that this decision touches on the eve of Remembrance Day, in a year when so many of us hope and aspire to unite with the memory of all those who were lost, without the involvement of politicians and at the expense of bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families who are holding a ceremony whose entire purpose is to spread hope and change.”

Gallant’s decision was a blanket order and not a decision particular to the participants, the petitioners said.

Gallant's decision, the petition contended, was a blanket order and not a decision particular to the participants.

Uncertain outlook for binational ceremony

A great deal of time and resources were invested into the ceremony, which is based on the participation of Palestinians, the NGOs said. Without the involvement of Palestinians, the main content of the ceremony would be censored and the program rendered ineffective, they said.

In a statement on Wednesday, Combatants for Peace said it had to crowdfund to cover the costs of the ceremony.

About 4,000 Israelis and 180 Palestinians were invited and registered to attend the memorial service, which would be the 18th annual joint ceremony. Artists had been scheduled to perform, and some of the Palestinians were going to give speeches.

In 2018 and 2019, the court ruled against preventing Palestinians from entering the country to participate in the ceremony, the petition said.

In 2017, the Israeli-Palestinian Remembrance Day ceremony was not held due to security concerns that were not addressed by the courts. From 2020-2022, the ceremonies were held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Entitled “Sharing sorrow, Bringing hope,” this year’s joint ceremony is set to be held at Ganei Yehoshua Park in Tel Aviv on Remembrance Day Eve, April 24, at 8:30 p.m.

Three hours before the ceremony, a general closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is set to be imposed, the IDF said Wednesday. The closure will continue through Remembrance Day and Independence Day and be lifted on April 26 at midnight, subject to the security situation, it said.

Exceptions to the closure would be allowed for humanitarian and medical cases, the IDF said.