A: Not necessarily. You should check whether, according to the laws of the country from which your son was taken, the consent of one of the parents is required to remove minor children from one country to another. Therefore, any case of relocating minor children from one country to another without the consent of the parent who has the right to consent or not to consent to it, will be considered an act of abduction. This was stated in a judgement given on 10.10.24 in appeal by the Central District Court of Lod, in the matter of the abduction of a child by the mother from New York to Israel (Appeal # 2298-10-24). The law applied in the State of New York, as interpreted and expressed in Israeli case law in various cases, states that custody rights are vested in both parents of the minor and that the failure of one parent to return the minor contrary to the parent’s request constitutes a violation of that parent’s right to custody. The court there found that consequently this violation requires the court, under Hague Convention law, to order the immediate return of the minor, unless the case falls within the exceptions (or defenses) set forth in Hague Convention law.