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Home / I have been filed with Hague Convention proceedings in Israel for the return of my minor children to Australia after "staying on" in Israel at the end of a scheduled visit. Can I avoid being labelled as an "abductor" by agreeing to return?

I have been filed with Hague Convention proceedings in Israel for the return of my minor children to Australia after “staying on” in Israel at the end of a scheduled visit. Can I avoid being labelled as an “abductor” by agreeing to return?

By: דיאנה שאלתיאלPublished on: 05 June, 2025

Yes, if you specifically request this during the Hague Convention legal proceedings, as part of a voluntary return, and this is acceptable to the other parent, and the court.

If it is, then a ruling can be given closing the Hague case without a finding as to the abduction. This can be done in different ways. It could be based on your agreement to a voluntary return to the status without any conditions, or according to a negotiated return package.

Alternatively, if no return package can be agreed upon, the court could close the case by ordering a  return, based on your consent and undertaking to return the children, with the court itself deciding on the conditions, again without a full-blown trial, and without a finding on whether there was wrongful retention of the children by you, in Israel (a passive form of child abduction) or not.


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