One authority permitted, another prosecuted him: Acquittal for a resident of the territories who relied on the Sharia court

The Magistrate's Court in Ramla acquitted a resident of the territories accused of illegal stay in Israel, after he presented a Sharia court order from Jaffa that prohibited him from leaving the country. Judge Tal Aner ruled that the defendant acted in good faith relying on an official document bearing the state emblem, and that a situation of unfairness arose where one authority permitted stay and another prosecuted.

The Magistrate's Court in Ramla acquitted a resident of the territories accused of illegal stay in Israel, after he managed to raise reasonable doubt that he believed in good faith he was allowed to stay in the country. At the center of the case was an official order from the Sharia court in Jaffa, bearing the state emblem, which prohibited the defendant from leaving Israel for a year. The defendant, married to an Israeli from Lod since 2010, said that for years he entered Israel on permits through his wife, but these were canceled since the war. According to him, when he approached the Sharia court with his wife, he was told he could move freely in Israel. He added that before his arrest, he was detained several times by police, showed them the order, and was released. Judge Tal Aner accepted the defense's position and ruled that the defendant cannot be held responsible for the contradictory instructions in the court document, and that the unfairness toward him is inherent in the situation. Alongside the acquittal, the court clarified that the verdict does not grant the defendant any status or stay permit in Israel.