Guide for Israeli citizens registered in Israel but living in Gaza: Procedure 3.2.0012, documents, interview, court ruling, DNA test. We handle these cases.
A considerable number of people are registered in Israel's Population Registry as Israeli citizens, yet have lived for many years in the Gaza Strip. Some were born in Israel and moved to Gaza as children; others were born in Gaza to a citizen parent and were registered as minors. Most of them have no surviving Israeli documentation — the identity card was lost, was deposited at a crossing years ago, or a passport was never issued. Since October 2023 the question has become urgent: family members in Israel seek to bring a relative out of the Strip, and the first obstacle is not citizenship but identity.
The starting point is clear: someone registered in the Population Registry as an Israeli citizen who moved to live in the Gaza Strip remains an Israeli citizen, and that citizenship is not affected — even if the person received a Palestinian ID number, and even if they were recorded as having ceased to be a resident of Israel (clause א.2 of Procedure 3.2.0012). The difficulty is not the registered person's right of entry — that right exists — but whether the applicant is indeed that same person. Below we explain how that gap is closed.
On 28 September 2005, following implementation of the Disengagement Plan, the Erez crossing was declared a border crossing for purposes of section 7 of the Entry into Israel Law, 5712-1952, so that entry from the Strip takes place at a border crossing and requires presentation of a valid passport or travel document (laissez-passer) (clause ב.1 of Procedure 3.2.0012). Israeli citizens, including those living in the Strip, have a vested right to enter Israel by virtue of their citizenship — subject to certain identification at the border crossing (clause ב.2 of the Procedure); the Supreme Court has held that this right arises upon official recognition of citizenship, under section 6(b) of Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. The Passports Law, 5712-1952 requires entry and exit on an Israeli travel document, so that even someone born in Gaza to Israeli citizens and registered as a citizen must obtain one (clause ב.3).
The specific arrangement is set out in Procedure 3.2.0012 — the "Pilot Procedure for the Identity Verification of Gaza Strip Residents Claiming to Be Israeli Citizens, for the Purpose of Obtaining an Israeli Passport and Entry into Israel" (24 September 2015). Under it, a Gaza resident who claims to be an Israeli citizen and does not hold a valid passport must submit an application for a travel document in advance — before arriving at the Erez crossing — in the course of which "as thorough an examination as possible" will be conducted to verify identity, with the burden of proof resting on the applicant (clause ב.5). The Procedure deals only with entry into Israel; leaving Israel for the Strip requires a permit from the military authorities under section 24 of the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law, 5765-2005 (clause ב.6).
Clause ג of the Procedure sets out the threshold requirements: an application form for a passport or travel document (Form Dar/1) and a dedicated accompanying form for Gaza Strip residents (Form Dar/12), each in two copies; three identical, up-to-date photographs measuring 35x45 mm; and proof of payment of the fee, which may be paid through an Israeli representative or in cash at the office (clauses ג.1–ג.3).
The heart of the application is the evidence. Clause ג.4 requires attaching copies of previously issued Israeli identity documents — an identity card or passport — and presenting the original at the interview. Clause ג.5 extends this to "past and present documents that may help prove the applicant's Israeli identity": a birth certificate, school records, medical documents, documents from Israeli public authorities, and photographs. This is, in practice, where the application's fate is decided: a list of relatives in Israel, evidence of previous entries, and old office records are often worth more than any legal argument. Someone who is not registered in the Population Registry at all is not on this track. Their case is examined under Procedure 3.2.0016 (the Procedure for Handling an Application for an Israeli Travel Document by Someone Who Is Not a Resident Registered in the Population Registry, 14 December 2023), which lists a defined set of situations in which a travel document will be issued to an unregistered person, and stresses that, as a rule, an Israeli travel document will not be issued to someone who is not registered in the Registry (clauses 3.1 and 3.3).
The application is submitted at the Authority's coordination office at the Erez crossing and forwarded to the regional office corresponding to the address listed in the Registry — the "home office" (clause ד.1). There the applicant's personal file is examined, and if necessary the files of family members as well, including entry and exit records (clause ד.2).
The applicant is then invited to an interview at the Erez crossing, for identification and to verify the details given in the application. The interview is conducted in a language the applicant understands, with Arabic interpretation if needed, and the applicant may be accompanied by an attorney or another person of their choosing, under Interview Procedure 5.1.0013 (clauses ד.3–ד.6). The original documents must be presented at the interview. The Authority may also interview Israeli family members, hold an additional interview (clause ד.7), and approach government bodies for information (clause ד.9). It should be borne in mind that in proceedings heard since October 2023, courts have described a reality in which the interview could not be held at the Erez crossing in the format set out in the Procedure — which increases the weight of the documents submitted in advance.
The decision is made at the home office. If it is satisfied of the applicant's Israeli identity, notice is sent to the applicant's attorney or contact person in Israel, and the passport is handed over at the Erez crossing (clauses ד.10–ד.11). The decision is to be made within 90 days of the date the application was submitted in full, subject to full cooperation (clause ד.15).
If the home office is not satisfied of the claimed identity, it must reject the application in a reasoned letter of refusal (clause ד.12). Here is the crucial point: the Procedure itself directs a rejected applicant to the courts in Israel, seeking a declaratory judgment as to their identity or as to the family relationship between them and an Israeli citizen, and notes that, as a rule, the State Attorney's Office will require proof by genetic testing in that same proceeding (clause ד.13). A judgment that is served will be examined, and a new decision made accordingly (clause ד.14).
The practical implication: after a refusal, the path is not necessarily an administrative challenge to the decision, but a civil proceeding to prove identity itself — usually an action for a declaratory judgment, and in parentage matters also an order for a family-relationship test under the Genetic Information Law, 5761-2000. The Jerusalem District Court has made clear that it will decide on the evidence brought before it and on the balance of probabilities, and that if it finds the genetic test insufficient, it will rule on the basis of the remaining evidence (Adm. Petition (Jerusalem) 48005-08-24 (6 Nov 2024)). The Supreme Court upheld the requirement (Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 57604-10-24 (20 Jan 2025)). In those proceedings a framework was worked out under which the genetic sample is taken at the Kerem Shalom crossing, subject to a court order for the test and an up-to-date security assessment.
A refusal decision may be challenged by an internal appeal under Procedure 1.6.0001 (the Procedure for Receiving Applications and Appeals against Decisions of the Authority's Offices and Headquarters, 8th edition, 24 February 2022). Clause ב.2 of that Procedure provides that the appeal must be filed in writing without delay and no later than 21 days from receipt of the decision, and only at the office that made the decision; an appeal filed later will not be handled.
Only once the appeal has been decided does the path open to an administrative petition. Case law in the last two years has been consistent: petitions filed before the Authority reached a decision, or before the internal appeal was decided, have been dismissed at the threshold for failure to exhaust remedies, even in difficult circumstances. In one case, a first petition was dismissed because the applicant had not yet applied to the Authority; a second was struck out because it was filed before the appeal was decided; and only the third was heard on the merits.
It is also worth tempering expectations regarding interim relief: a request to add a person to a list of those permitted to leave, or to allow entry pending a decision, is not preservation of the status quo but a mandatory order, and as such is granted sparingly. The effort should be invested in the evidentiary foundation from the outset.
Entry into Israel is not the end of the road. A citizen who returns after years in Gaza and applies for an identity card faces a separate requirement: under the Authority's position, based on section 24 and the definition of "resident" in the Population Registry Law, 5725-1965, the applicant must be permanently present in Israel, and in practice evidence of a center of life in the six months preceding the application is requested. The Jerusalem District Court dismissed a petition on this matter at the threshold, on the ground that the application had not yet been refused and the documents had not yet been submitted (Adm. Petition (Jerusalem) 1131-12-24 (23 Apr 2025)); an appeal was dismissed (Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 5206-07-25 (19 Aug 2025)). In the same decision it was clarified that the list of documents is not closed and that "any other relevant evidence" may be presented — important for someone living with a relative without a lease in their own name — and that the examination should be adapted to the circumstances and not made unduly burdensome.
A further point concerns children: under the Population Registry Law, an Israeli citizen whose child is born abroad must register the child in the Registry within 30 days of birth. A child who was not registered is not a registered citizen; their entry is examined under the Entry into Israel Law, and proof of parentage will be required in judicial proceedings — usually by genetic testing. Failure to register in time comes up repeatedly in recent decisions.
Leave to Appeal (Supreme Court) 3661/24 (1 May 2024) concerned an applicant who claimed to have been born in Israel, to be registered in the Registry, and to have lived in Gaza since age three; she sought an interim order adding her to a group of citizens about to leave the Strip. The request was denied, given the lower instance's finding of a "paucity of evidence" and the fact that the relief sought was in effect a mandatory order identical to the main relief. The lesson: interim relief will not bridge an absence of evidence.
In Adm. Petition (Jerusalem) 48005-08-24 (6 Nov 2024) the petition was dismissed on the merits, and the court clarified the structure of the process: after the interview, the Authority must decide whether it is satisfied that the person claiming citizenship is the registered person, and if it is not satisfied, the path is to apply to the court for a declaration of identity. The court noted the absence of an evidentiary "anchor": no identity documents were produced other than one issued in the Strip, and no indication of previous entries into Israel was found.
In Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 57604-10-24 and Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 15091-12-24 (20 Jan 2025), two appeals heard together were dismissed: the Court held that the authorities have broad discretion in determining the manner and conditions of the inquiry, that in the absence of documents or other evidence they may require proof of identity or family relationship by genetic testing, and that there is no obligation to allow entry into Israel during the interim period pending the results. The judgment also shows what carries weight: in a separate opinion it was said that registering the children in the Palestinian registry even before the war could suffice to discharge an initial burden; conversely, in the other applicant's case it was stressed that her first approach to the Authority came only about six months after the war began. The lesson: "early footholds" laid down in advance are what change the outcome.
Our office assists Israeli citizens staying in the Gaza Strip and their family members in Israel throughout the stages of the process: locating and gathering evidence from the past — office files, school and medical records, entry records and photographs; preparing the application and accompanying forms; appointing a contact person or attorney in Israel; accompanying the applicant to the interview and coordinating interviews with family members; filing an internal appeal on time; and, in appropriate cases, conducting the civil proceeding for a declaratory judgment, including arranging genetic testing. We work carefully and make no promise of an outcome: in these cases, it is the quality of the evidentiary foundation that decides the result.
No. Clause א.2 of Procedure 3.2.0012 expressly provides that someone registered in the Population Registry as an Israeli citizen who moves to live in the Gaza Strip remains an Israeli citizen, and that citizenship is not affected. This is true even if the person received a Palestinian ID number and even if they were recorded as having ceased to be a resident of Israel. However, exercising the rights that flow from citizenship is conditional on proving identity and on certain identification.
Clause ד.15 of the Procedure provides that the application will be processed and decided within 90 days of the date it was submitted in full, subject to the applicant meeting the Procedure's requirements and cooperating fully. Note that the clock starts only once the application has been submitted in full, including the fee and the documents. If an internal appeal or judicial proceeding is later required, the overall timeline lengthens significantly.
Genetic testing is not a threshold requirement under the Procedure. It comes into play when the Authority is not satisfied of the claimed identity and directs the applicant to the court for a declaratory judgment, since, as a rule, the State Attorney's Office will require proof of identity or family relationship by that method in that same proceeding (clause ד.13 of the Procedure). The Supreme Court has held that, in the absence of other evidence, there is nothing improper about the requirement (Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 57604-10-24 (20 Jan 2025)). Conversely, the richer the evidentiary foundation presented from the past, the lower the chance the matter will reach this stage.
As a rule, no. It has been held that there is no obligation to allow entry into Israel during the interim period between the test being conducted and the results being received, and that the authorities have broad discretion in the matter (Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 57604-10-24). A request for this kind of temporary relief is treated as a mandatory order changing the status quo, and as such is granted sparingly, particularly when it overlaps with the main relief sought (Leave to Appeal (Supreme Court) 3661/24 (1 May 2024)). In the past, in unique circumstances, a single case approved a framework allowing entry pending results subject to posting a financial bond, but the State maintains that this is not a binding framework.
A great deal. The Procedure allows a contact person or attorney in Israel to be named on the accompanying form (Form Dar/12), and notices — including handover of the passport — are made through that person (clauses ג.1 and ד.10). A family member can locate and submit old documents, and under clause ד.7 the Authority may even interview Israeli family members to verify details arising from the application. If a proceeding to prove a family relationship is later required, family members in Israel are usually the ones who will be asked to provide a sample.