Israelis who wish to perform surrogacy procedures abroad in a country where there is no law regulating the issue, i.e., in the absence of a law permitting the execution of such procedures, take upon themselves the risk that they will be found to be violating the laws and procedures of the foreign country. ..
In addition, Israelis who wish to carry out surrogacy procedures, in countries where the State of Israel does not have diplomatic representation, will encounter substantial difficulties that may affect their ability to remove the baby born during the surrogacy process from his place of birth.
The State of Israel wishes to announce that before applying for surrogacy procedures in any country abroad, it is necessary to verify the full legal framework that applies to the conduct of surrogacy in that country with all its legal implications, and in particular, the legal possibility of legally removing that newborn minor from his or her country of birth."
In addition, on the same day, a notice was published on the Government Services and Information website with the following words:
"The State of Israel, like most countries in the world, with the exception of Turkey, does not recognize the entity of Northern Cyprus as a state, and therefore does not maintain any diplomatic or consular relations with the local authorities... with all that this entails" (the notice is quoted in the position of the Attorney General submitted to the Family Court on August 1,2024, Appendix 12 to the current request for leave to appeal).
- On August 4,2019, a public announcement was published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with the Ministry of Justice and the Population and Immigration Authority, in which it was emphasized once again that care should be taken against conducting surrogacy procedures in countries with which the State of Israel does not have diplomatic relations. This announcement made a concrete reference to Northern Cyprus and noted that since Israel does not recognize it as a country and does not have a diplomatic or consular representation, Israelis who wish to undertake surrogacy procedures there "are expected to encounter significant difficulties that may affect the possibility of performing a genetic test for family ties in order to prove a genetic connection between the baby and the Israeli citizen, About the Registration of Newborns at the Population Authority, About his removal from his place of birth and more". It should already be noted that at that time, before the additional notice described below was published, the respondents began the surrogacy proceedings and the minors whose case was discussed in this proceeding were born - A fact that is of practical importance in the circumstances of the present case.
- On June 21,2023, a statement was published by the Coordination Unit for the Fight against Human Trafficking, Prostitution and Polygamy in the Ministry of Justice (hereinafter: The decisive travel warning). This announcement included a specific warning against surrogacy procedures being carried out in Northern Cyprus, Albania and Kenya, as follows:
"The information accumulated in the unit raises concerns that in some of the destinations where Israelis perform surrogacy procedures, the procedures are carried out using means that can harm women's dignity, their basic rights, objectify them and limit their freedom, and in severe cases even amount to suspicion of human trafficking - both surrogates and newborn babies. The Coordination Unit for the Fight against Human Trafficking deems it appropriate to bring the serious matters to the attention of the public, so that it can consider its steps and refrain from carrying out proceedings that raise concerns about their execution from both a moral and legal perspective.