Jerusalem, Oct 14: The Israeli military today ordered expulsion of 15 Palestinian from the West Bank and said they would be moved to the Gaza Strip, a decision unprecedented in its scope. The military issued such expulsion orders only once before, when it forced three relatives of Palestinian terror suspects to move from the West Bank to Gaza last year in hopes of deterring future attacks on Israelis.
Israel's Supreme Court later approved the practice, which has been denounced by human rights lawyers as a violation of international law. The Israeli government argues that expulsions, along with house demolitions, create an important deterrent against suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli civilians.
Tuesday's decision affects 15 Palestinians held in so-called administrative detention, without charges or trial. The army said in a statement that the 15 were being held on suspicion they helped militants carry out attacks on Israelis, but that they were not directly involved and had ``no blood on their hands".
The military did not identify the 15 detainees, who have already been moved to an army lockup in the Gaza Strip and have two days to appeal the decision.
Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat denounced the expulsion orders as a violation of international human rights conventions.
``It's a very dangerous step,'' Erekat told. Bureau Report