As a war of petitions rages between supporters of the Supreme Court and supporters of the justice minister, it should not be forgotten that on the really important issues, Supreme Court justices demonstrate national responsibility and are synchronized with the prevailing mood. They proved this once again last week when they accepted the state's position that 10 students from the Gaza Strip should not be permitted to travel to the West Bank for two months in order to complete a clinical internship, without which they will not be able to work as occupational therapists in Gaza. There is currently only one certified occupational therapist working in the strip.

With respect to their age, the petitioning students "belong to the risk group of those who seek to destroy Israel"; Hamas will attempt to export the war "from the Gaza Strip to Judea and Samaria" [the West Bank]; and relations between Gaza and Israel have only degenerated since the disengagement. These are the main arguments that were submitted by the state and accepted by the Supreme Court justices, who are being wrongly besmirched.

The patriotic ruling by their honors Justices Elyakim Rubinstein, Esther Hayut and Joseph Elon put an end to a saga that had gone on for three years and to the attempts by seven young men and three young women to attend a special course at Bethlehem University, which is funded by the Norwegian government and taught by experts from abroad. The course was designed to meet the needs of Palestinian society with regard to caring for people with disabilities.