A High Court ruling late Sunday to allow five female relatives of Hamas members in the Gaza Strip into Israel for lifesaving medical treatment has sparked outrage on the Israeli Right.
The five women appealed to the court last month after their requests to enter Israel were rejected on the grounds of their relation to members of the terrorist group that rules the coastal enclave.
The government decision denies entry for health care to relatives of Hamas members and is meant to exert pressure on the Hamas regime in Gaza, which is holding the bodies of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, killed in Operation Protective Edge in 2014, as well as two Israeli citizens believed to be alive.
Four human rights groups representing the women said the government was using them and others seeking care unavailable in Gaza as "bargaining chips."
"If High Court rulings keep going this way, we will be forced to legally restrict its authority," Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan said Monday.
Habayit Hayehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich called the ruling "continued irresponsibility by High Court justices, who are hurting Israel's security."
"For political reasons, to pressure Hamas to release our captives, the government wants to prevent Hamas members' relatives from receiving treatment. The High Court's intervention is sheer gall. The High Court places the lives of our enemies over our ability to fight Hamas," Smotrich tweeted.
