Posted on 09/03/2002 5:20:12 AM PDT by MadIvan
Israel's Supreme Court has approved the expulsion of relatives of a Palestinian militant from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.
In a landmark ruling, a nine-judge panel upheld an order issued last month against the brother and sister of a Palestinian suspected of organising suicide bombings.
It said a third Palestinian related to another militant suspected of two shooting attacks near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank should be set free.
Palestinian officials called the decision a "black day for human rights" and said they might file a complaint with the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court.
The militant Palestinian group Hamas called the ruling a "grave escalation" which "will be met by an escalation in the Palestinian resistance".
The three accused had appealed against the order, saying it was a form of collective punishment and violated international law.
Israel said the move was intended to deter future attacks by Palestinian militants.
Militant helped
The Israeli army said the brother and sister - 28-year-old Kifah and 34-year-old Intisar Ajouri - knew in advance about their brother Ali's plan to carry out attacks but did not act to prevent them.
The two are accused of providing logistical support for their brother, helping him avoid capture and having moved bombs.
The Israeli army (IDF) said Ali Ajouri masterminded several suicide attacks, including one in Tel Aviv on 17 July, 2002, which killed five people and wounded 40 others.
The IDF said Intisar had sewn explosives into a belt used by a suicide bomber in one of the attacks.
Ali Ajouri was shot dead by Israeli troops on 6 August, 2002.
The court said that it "had proved that they [the Ajouris] were involved in terrorism to the extent required such that they presented a reasonable possibility of danger".
It ruled that the Ajouris could be expelled from their home in the Iskar refugee camp in Nablus to the Gaza Strip for two years.
But the judges overturned an expulsion order against Abdel Nasser Asidi, the brother a militant accused of two West Bank ambushes which killed 19 Israelis.
Burden of proof
In handing down the ruling, Chief Justice Aharon Barak said Israel could only expel a suspected militant's relative if they presented a real security threat.
Legal experts say the decision means Israel cannot expel people merely to deter future attacks, and that the army will have to provide proof of some form of involvement before it can issue expulsion orders.
"The court ruled with a loud voice that deterrence cannot be a cause to take steps. This is a very, very positive point," said the Ajouris' lawyer Leah Tzemel.
The order against the Ajouris has been condemned by human rights organisations, who say it contravenes the Geneva Conventions and therefore constitutes a war crime - a charge that Israel denies.
The judges said they had not breached international law because the West Bank and Gaza formed one territorial unit and the orders were relocations rather than expulsions.
If the expulsions are carried out it will be the first time Israel has expelled a Palestinian from the area in which they live for 10 years.
Regards, Ivan
Every last Muslim must go, God has willed it.
You forget, these are people who also received $25K from Saddam.
Regards, Ivan
I did forget that. However, it doesn't speak to what Israel should do. They should do what appears to be right in terms of property and possessions.
First, because it is right. Second, because it is a public, visible event.
The IDF said Intisar had sewn explosives into a belt used by a suicide bomber in one of the attacks.
... Legal experts say the decision means Israel cannot expel people merely to deter future attacks, and that the army will have to provide proof of some form of involvement before it can issue expulsion orders.
Heck, these people who were moved from one part of Palestine to another part of Palestine (for only two years!) made bombs and actualy helped the bomber. In the states they would not be expelled to another neighborhood, but jailed on a dozen counts of accessory to murder. They are getting off FAR to light I think.
I think life in Jail for a bomb maker is a bit light though.
Israel to relatives of Pallie bombers:
YER OUT OF HERE!
There is hope. Maybe the war between Hamas and al-Aqsa will claim them :)
Seriously, my fear is that this may promote more cooperation between them.
When they started talking about expulsion, I assumed that they meant from the country. It never occurred to me that this is what they had in mind.
I don't understand why they didn't jail and try them as accessories.
It's doubtful these people owned any property. They have been living off the teat of the U.N. in refugee camps. War and fundamental nutty stuff is all they know or live for. Remember, it's one of the reasons they hate us and the West, what they perceive as our materialism and secular way of life. They aren't real big on acquiring property or "things." There will be nothing to return to them.
Ah yes! I see a pattern forming! 'I don't like what my sovereign national Supreme Court sez, so I'm going to the ICC!!'
Grand. The ICC could turn every legal issue in the world into a Floriduh-supreme-court-type fiasco. Scary.
Other things to note:
So on the one hand, their judiciary reigns in the military, and at the same time, they participate in the prevention of "future crimes." A mixed bag fer sure.
Justice would see these families as accessories to murder dance on the end of a rope for all potential "future threats" to see!
Regards, Ivan
Imprison them for failure to notify the police of an impending attack. That is plain old rule-of-law stuff, and keeps them off the streets for many years legitimately.
I agree with the deportation policy, but not when there is a clearer, more elegant, justified route like imprisonment.
They should do what appears to be right in terms of property and possessions.
What "appears" to be right is evidently a matter of opinion, don't you think? It appears the world is holding Israel up to a different standard than it applies to anyone else. I can't think of a single country in the world at any point in history which has treated their enemies with the simple decency that Israel has done. Can you?
First, because it is right.
Why should Israel do what YOU think is right? Nothing personal, of course, but why should Israel do what anyone else thinks is "right"? Israel must do what it thinks is right and bear the consequences.....just like the rest of the world.
Second, because it is a public, visible event.
Interesting. Israel appears to be the only country in the world held up to such close scrutiny. Perhaps they should take the attitude that "since the world doesn't care when our citizens are murdered, we shouldn't care when the rest of the world thinks we are "mistreating" the Arabs." What do you think?
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