Court rejects Israeli rights group’s Gaza travel request

JERUSALEM – An Israeli rights group says the country’s Supreme Court has rejected its petition to ease restrictions on Palestinians travelling through a Gaza crossing.

Gisha, an Israeli group advocating for greater freedom of movement for Gazans, maintains the ban on travel with basic necessities is “arbitrary … and illegal.”

“The state is obligated to find a reasonable balance between Israel’s security needs and its responsibilities toward civilians under its control, passing through its crossings,” It said,

Last year Israel, citing security concerns, imposed new restrictions, including a ban on laptops, on Palestinians exiting Gaza.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007 after the militant Islamic Hamas took over.

Israel says it is to prevent Hamas arming. Critics say it’s collective punishment of Gaza’s 2 million people.