Time to Get Moving

October 27, 2025

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Photo: © Martin Haas | Dreamstime.com

Dear friend,

We are thrilled to see a halt to the war and the return of the living hostages, and are hopeful that the ceasefire will continue to hold. We know that the process of rebuilding, justice, and accountability will take years. This war has cost so many lives, and ground down so much of the work we had done to preserve human rights. Now the process of rehabilitation for the people, the land, and the values we hold dear must begin. 

Throughout the war, we have been focusing our attention not only on Gaza, but also on the West Bank, which has seen a sharp increase in violence against Palestinians and limitations on their freedom of movement. Palestinians in the West Bank are often subject to movement restrictions that are imposed arbitrarily, without any oversight when it comes to the decision-making progress. This has been true for years, but the number and frequency of movement restrictions have risen significantly since October 7. Without transparency, and with the current chaotic system in place, Palestinians live in a constant state of uncertainty. People leave home not knowing if they will be able to reach their destinations, when they might arrive, or whether they will subsequently be able to return. Access to basic necessities such as food, water, medical care, agricultural land for farming, work, school, and meeting family and friends is limited. In the worst-case scenario, movement restrictions can be fatal when they prevent access to emergency medical care or basic life necessities.  

The random imposition of movement restrictions also exposes Palestinians in the West Bank to disorder and excessive policing without any official accountability or documentation. The disorder and lack of transparency means that residents do not know which restrictions apply to them and when, or even if the restrictions they encounter are official: the miliary will often deny the existence of checkpoints and curfew orders that are, in practice, being enforced by soldiers on the ground; there are also often movement restrictions imposed by settlers in order to restrict the movements of Palestinians in a particular area. It makes life stressful and miserable, and is an infringement on residents’ human rights. 

This is an issue that we have been pursuing for a long time. Gathering enough data and documentation from a system arranged to be opaque and to dodge accountability in order to put together a solid case was no easy task. But in February we managed to submit our petition, seeking a court order that any movement restrictions be published in advance, in a way that makes clear whether they are intended to be long-term or short-term, and whether they are official closures. Last week, the Supreme Court held a hearing for our case in which we demanded that the military and head of the Civil Administration act with transparency when imposing movement restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank. This would allow residents to plan accordingly and minimizes the potential for major violations of their rights.  

We already received an encouraging response from the judges, asking us to clarify how a system to provide advanced notice of movement restrictions would work. We are hopeful for a positive decision in this case, and now that there is a ceasefire, we expect the court to be more active and responsive to the cases we bring regarding the West Bank. We hope that this respite from the fighting ushers in a period of change, when our impact on promoting human rights can grow significantly.  

This is a time of hope, and a time for action. Donate Now.

More News from ACRI:

ACRI at the Supreme Court

Finally, after the government requested an unprecedented 25 (!) extensions, ACRI has a hearing scheduled at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, December 29 for our case to allow Red Cross access to Palestinian prisoners. 

ACRI's Work During the War

The ceasefire is in place, and will hopefully hold, but you can still learn about the work ACRI did to protect human rights during wartime, including:

• Publishing a report on hunger in Gaza;

• Demanding that Gaza's remaining hospitals remain open, with safe and continuous access for medical staff, patients, food, and supplies;

• Appealing for adequate amounts of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza;

• Pushing back against attempts to infringe on the right to protest and right to freedom of expression during wartime;

• Ensuring that evacuees were granted accommodations for matriculation exams, and providing help in dealing with an indifferent bureaucracy. 

Other Issues Pursued by ACRI

• Police violence at the (cancelled) Tel Aviv soccer derby

• The rollback of protections for migrant workers

• Failures in the current court translation system, and proposals for improvement