The state responded on Sunday evening to an appeal filed with the Supreme Court by the Ukrainian Embassy against the policies of the Israeli government and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, and said that the petition for an interim order against the establishment of a quota of entrants to Israel from Ukraine should be rejected.
The state said in its response that the outline presented by Shaked allows - in addition to setting a quota - for the entry of Ukrainians invited by relatives who are citizens of Israel or permanent residents.
"There was no flaw in the Interior Minister's decision. It is a reasonable and proportionate decision, deeply rooted in the area of discretion given to her and to the senior political echelon in such matters, let alone in the sensitive and unusual state of affairs in which we find ourselves," the state response said.
The response comes a day after the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, filed a petition on behalf of the Ukrainian Embassy to the Supreme Court against Israel’s policies regarding refugees from Ukraine.
The lawyer representing the Ukrainian Embassy argued that by using the word "quotas," the Interior Minister creates a smokescreen that in essence hides behind it a violation of international conventions and law.
The petition reads, "The honorable Court is requested to preserve the existing situation and freeze the implementation of the proposed plan, which prevents the entry of Ukrainian citizens into Israel, into force, until this petition is decided so that the order granting Ukrainian citizens unhindered entry into Israel will remain in force."