Legal Services
The Community Action Center is specialized in providing pro-bono legal services and consultations to Jerusalemites in the areas of welfare insurance as well as residency, demolition and construction issues. Services and consultations are provided by certified lawyers with experience in those areas.
Residency issues
includes family unification, Humanitarian Committee, children's registration and residency retrieval.
Read more ↓Welfare insurance
includes debts cases, filling out forms, consultations and residency according to welfare insurance law (filing suits).
Read more ↓Residency topics:
1Family unification in Jerusalem:
Family unification is a legal procedure aimed at granting residency or “Israeli” citizenship status to a spouse who does not have this legal status with the aim of residing in Jerusalem or other areas under Israeli sovereignty. This procedure is passed when marrying a person from other countries or Palestinians from the West Bank so that they can live together in Jerusalem or other areas over which Israel has extended its sovereignty.
2Humanitarian Committee:
The critical cases defined by the temporary law for some exceptions. A request can be submitted to a humanitarian committee in Tel Aviv if there are critical cases, whether related to the applicant (Israeli resident), the nonresident or his/her children. For example: cases of illness, the applicant (Israeli resident) dies or others. It was explicitly said that having
3Permit renewal:
The current policy of the MOI appoints a date for permit renewals, and the applicant must prove that he/she is still a resident in Jerusalem or other areas over which Israel has extended its sovereignty.
4Withdrawal and restoration of permanent residency:
Withdrawing and restoring residency is a current and thorny issues, which deals with the issue of permanent residence on the one hand, the instability that haunts Jerusalemites in particular and the Palestinians in general, and on the other hand, the possibilities and opportunities that increase in the those seeking to regain their Israeli identity and permanent residence after they lost it as a result of moving out of Jerusalem or other areas over which Israel has extended its sovereignty.
5Registration of children for residents of Jerusalem:
When both parents are Jerusalemites (residency holders) and the child was born in Jerusalem he/she are automatically registered by the hospital in which he/she was born.
If the parents are Jerusalemites (residency holders), and the child was born in the West Bank, it is sufficient in this case to prove the parents’ place of residence; as long as the child is not 18 years old. If the child is not registered, and does not have any legal status, he must prove his/her place of residence for two years in the country, and then obtain a permanent identity.
If one of the parents is not Jerusalemite (residency holder) and the child was born outside the country and he/she is under the age of 14: he/ she must submit papers immediately before he/she reaches the age of 14, and then he/she will obtain temporary residency that is renewed twice for two years and then obtain permanent residency, only after proving the residence for the last two years.
One of the parents is a Jerusalemite (residency holder) and the child was born in the West Bank, is registered in the West Bank or is a resident of the West Bank (less than 14 years old): must prove the center of life for the last two years, and then obtain temporary residency for two years, and then obtain permanent residency.
One of the parents is a Jerusalemite and the child is registered in the West Bank or (residing in the West Bank and if not registered there more than 14 years old): He/ she gets only temporary permits, (according to Administrative Regulation No. 12) provided he/ she resides for two years and is not granted a permanent identity.
One of the parents is in Jerusalem and the son/ daughter is over 18 years old: he/ she must go to the humanitarian committee as the only solution, and explain the humanitarian reason for living in Jerusalem, such as illness.
For more information, please contact the legal services unit to get a consultation.
National Insurance Topics:
The center provides legal services that include debt reviews, filling out forms, and consulting. Some of the most distinguished benefits are:
A long-term care benefit:
is granted to those who have reached retirement age, who live in their own home and are in need of assistance from another person in performing daily activities, as well as to people requiring a supervision at home for the sake of their own safety and the safety of those surrounding them. The benefit is designed to help the elderly and family members to take care of him or her.
Unemployment:
They are allowances owed by the employee who has been dismissed from work or in some circumstances to the employee who has resigned from his work or has been given unpaid leave by the employer.
Income support:
Those who do not have any income are entitled to receive income support benefits, and those who have income less than the amount specified in the law are entitled to a partial income guarantee.
Disability:
A disability pension is paid to those who are unable to work, or whose earning capacity is reduced due to their medical condition.
Old age:
The old age insurance is designed to ensure that residents of Israel receive a regular monthly income in their old age.
Study grant:
Children of single-parent families.
Children of families with four or more children, who are receiving a subsistence benefit (general disability, income support, maintenance, old-age or survivors).
It is worth mentioning that there are other benefits and one can get a consultation from our advocates.
Consultations on issues of house demolitions and building violations.
In September 2017, Amendment No. 116 to the Planning and Building Law or the so-called Chemnitz Law, which is considered one of the most dangerous laws for Jerusalemites, entered into force and implementation.
This amendment aims mainly to give the state authorities, especially the planning and building laws enforcement unit of the government, the almost absolute authority to carry out house demolitions against Palestinian citizens, especially Jerusalemites, more quickly and effectively without the possibility of extending and freezing demolition orders through the courts, as was the case in the previous law.
According to the previous legal situation, there was the possibility of freezing and extending demolition orders for years, which would eventually allow the issuance of a building permit or only the payment of fines that are "partially bearable." But according to the new law, the situation has changed, and the rule is that the demolition order issued by the court is for a period of only one year, and another year can be granted for extension with imposing conditions on the extension, such as providing the opinion of a specialized engineer on the safety of the building and to show improvement in the planning and zoning of the required construction. This is not a sufficient period at all to obtain a building permit in Jerusalem.
The new law also gives the state authorities absolute authority to implement demolition orders if the citizen does not implement the demolition order himself within the specified period, unlike the old situation, which allowed the institution to demolish only if the court authorized the organizing committees to demolish. This includes all new buildings that were breached after the law came into force.
As for financial violations that can be imposed on a person who is fined for a building violation without a license, the new law doubled or tripled the amount of fines that can be imposed by more than three times, as well as imposing daily fines for violations of non-compliance with a court order.
On the other hand, the new law gives state institutions, especially the Planning and Building Laws Application Unit, the power to issue administrative demolition and arrest orders, as well as to issue administrative non-use orders for buildings without the need to refer to the court, and if the citizen does not comply with the administrative decision, the municipality can order a demolition itself.
In cases of non-compliance with the court arrest order, the new law grants the municipality the authority to issue a demolition order and implement it without referring to the court, especially in the new built construction.