Middle East: In a move Israel says is aimed at deterring terrorism, but which has drawn sharp criticism from the international community and human rights groups in the past, the military announced yesterday that 15 Palestinians being held in administrative detention and who live in the West Bank, would be deported to the Gaza Strip, writes Peter Hirschberg in Jerusalem
In southern Gaza, meanwhile, the army yesterday again invaded the Rafah refugee camp in an operation it said was aimed at exposing and destroying tunnels used to smuggle weapons from Egypt into the Strip.
The 15 Palestinians targeted for expulsion have already been moved to an army lock-up in the Strip pending their deportation, without trial, and have been given 48 hours to appeal the decision to an Israeli court. While the detainees were not named, the army said most were members of the radical Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups.
A statement released by the military said those selected for deportation had not been directly involved in attacks on Israelis.
"These are not detainees with blood on their hands, but they have been accomplices in terror activity," the statement read.
Col Daniel Reisner, from the army's international law department, said the 15 could not be tried without exposing sensitive intelligence information. They would be allowed to return to the West Bank, he said, if they did not "deal in terror" for a two-year period.
Israel believes that deporting people from their homes in the West Bank to Gaza will deter them from again getting involved in attacks after they are released. There is no clearcut evidence, however, that this method has proven effective.
This is the most expansive use of the "internal" expulsion measure since the start of the intifada three years ago. Last year, Israel expelled two relatives of a West Bank militant suspected of organising suicide bombings to Gaza. Israel's High Court of Justice lent its approval to the measure when it rejected appeals submitted by the two.
Talking to reporters in Ramallah, Palestinian Prime Minister Mr Ahmed Korei called the expulsion orders "a flagrant obstruction of any effort to restore calm". Palestinian Minister Mr Saeb Erekat condemned the move as a violation of international human rights conventions. But Col Reisner argued the measure was in line with international law which, he said, allowed for relocation in order to deal with a security threat.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, which monitors the government's actions in the Occupied Territories, also slammed the expulsion orders.
"It's very worrisome and looks like they're trying to push the boundaries further," said a spokesman for the group.
Doctors in Rafah yesterday reported at least six people injured as armoured vehicles re-entered the camp to resume an operation that began last week. Gunmen traded fire with troops as they moved back into the teeming camp.
An officer said the operation could last several days.