The proceedings related to two children, both girls, who were born in 1995 and 1998 and lived in France. The parents, who were not married, separated in September 1999. The mother alleged that she had been the victim of domestic violence. On 29 June 2000 a French court ordered that the children live with the mother and that the father have contact. Both parents retained parental authority.
On 18 December 2000, after an alleged threat to her life by the father, the mother unilaterally took the children to Israel. In October 2001 the father applied to the French Central Authority, which in turn referred the matter to the Israeli Central Authority. However, the father only issued his return application in the Israeli courts on 14 November 2002.
After significant delays the trial court ruled that the removal had been wrongful and that none of the exceptions applied. The father appealed to the District Court.
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