Parents of missing girl challenge refusal to allow protest camp in Jerusalem — Jerusalem Post

The parents of Haimanot Kassau, who disappeared at the age of nine, asked the Jerusalem District Court in Israel to urgently consider their petition against the city authorities’ refusal to allow a month-long protest camp near the Prime Minister’s Office. This was reported by The Jerusalem Post.

The girl disappeared on February 25, 2024, from the absorption center in Safed, where her family lived. She was last recorded that evening while distributing local election leaflets with friends near the center. Despite searches involving police, rescue units, dogs and volunteers, no trace of Haimanot was found.

Demand to transfer the case to Shin Bet

The family requested permission for the camp from September 23 to October 22 at the intersection of Zusman and Kaplan streets, near the Prime Minister’s Office and the government complex. The parents seek to transfer the investigation under the full responsibility of the Shin Bet security service, which currently provides only limited assistance to the police.

In December 2025, the investigation was transferred to the police’s national criminal unit, Lahav 433. In February, the attorney general exceptionally allowed Shin Bet to assist police with certain investigative actions. In June, a nationwide information campaign was launched in the country, and a reward of 1 million shekels was announced for information that would help find the girl.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Arguments of the city and the family

The Jerusalem Municipality denied the permit on September 16. The city said that prolonged tent camps usually create problems with sanitation, safety and accessibility of public space, and also restrict its use by other people.

The family’s representatives from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel argue that the authorities did not conduct an individual assessment of the proposed camp and did not explain why these problems could not have been addressed through certain conditions.

The city also asked the court to close the case after the family set up a temporary sukkah for the Sukkot holiday at Agranat Square next to the existing protest camp of the Gevura Forum. The family responded that this structure is not the planned month-long camp and will be dismantled after the holiday ends.

Judge Einat Avman-Muller has not yet dismissed the petition or decided whether the city must grant permission for the camp. The case is still under consideration, and the family is requesting an urgent hearing.