Yesterday, Physicians for Human Rights petitioned the High Court of Justice on behalf of A.L. and five other families of foreign workers who also have children suffering from chronic illnesses. The petition, filed against Interior Minister Ophir Pines-Paz, is designed to prevent the deportation of the children.

Although the petition was filed on behalf of six families, it has potential impact for 30 children of foreign workers who suffer from severe chronic illnesses.

Attorney Yohana Lerman wrote in the petition that the children require intensive medical care and that the level of medical services in their native countries - including Ghana, Nigeria and the Philippines - is unsatisfactory. "If these children are deported from Israel to their countries of origin, they will suffer severe harm to their health until their deaths," the petition reads.

Among the petitioners is a 5-year-old boy who suffers from cerebral palsy, and is also severely retarded. His parents, Nigerian citizens, have been living in Israel for the past 10 years - most of that time illegally.

Another petitioner is a 6-year-old AIDS patient who requires constant medical care. According to the petition, Ghana, the country of origin of the boy's parents, "does not have the medical system required to allow him to survive."

Richard Bampa, a 10-year-old Tel Aviv resident, is also among the petitioners. Bampa was born in Israel to a mother from the Philippines and a father from Ghana. Bampa suffers from juvenile diabetes and requires six doses of insulin a day as well as close monitoring, which he gets at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.

Physicians for Human Rights says that deporting him could endanger his life.

The petition asks that the interior minister and the ministerial committee on population administration affairs that he heads be ordered to "set criteria and issue directives based on which the families of children suffering from severe illnesses will receive permits to reside and work in Israel, and prevent their deportation from Israel."

The petition argues that the interior minister must prevent the deportation of these families until a comprehensive discussion is held on granting them legal status.

Physicians for Human Rights has been trying for 18 months to secure rights for children of foreign workers who suffer from severe illness. According to the petition, "the Population Registry has refrained until now from formulating such regulations," despite the fact that "the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Israel is a signatory, forbids undermining the welfare of children or discrimination against them on the basis of their origin."

The Interior Ministry said in response to the petition that since Pines-Paz took office, the ministry has ensured that children who suffer from illnesses that require immediate medical care and their families are not deported from Israel.