A FORMER Port Elizabeth woman opted to remain in South Africa, while her three children flew back to Israel with their father at the weekend as per a court order.
She refused to comment yesterday.
The woman’s Israeli husband had taken her to the Port Elizabeth High Court in terms of The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction after she tried to keep their children in South Africa without his consent following a holiday here.
The 37-year-old woman claimed Israel was unsafe for their daughters, aged three, five and eight. She surprised her husband with a divorce summons on July 30.
The couple were married in Israel and all three children were born there.
The court found in favour of the 37-year-old father on Friday, ordering the return of the children to their habitual residence of Ashkelon, Israel.
Provision was also made for the woman to live in the family home in Ashkelon with the children, while the father would move out.
However, speaking from Israel yesterday, the father said his wife had informed him on Saturday before their flight home that she was not well enough to travel.
He said he returned home with his daughters. “I believe she will eventually come. “We both need to finish the [divorce and custody] proceedings over here. The girls also need their mother,” the father said.
-Kathryn Kimberley
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