Israeli Court Approves Expelling Two Palestinians
Israel's Supreme Court approved on Tuesday the expulsion to Gaza of two West Bank Palestinians accused of assisting their brother with a suicide bombing, a ruling Palestinians called a blow to human rights.

But in what Israeli legal experts described as a setback to the military, the court's landmark decision set limits on internationally condemned plans to expel families of Palestinian militants as a deterrent to future attackers.

The nine-judge panel ruled unanimously that a militant's relative could not be expelled solely on the basis of family ties but had to pose a security risk, even if the army believed deportation could dissuade others from mounting attacks.

Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat called the decision, marking the first time in a decade Israel is invoking an expulsion policy, a ``black day for human rights.''

Amnesty International said in a statement after the ruling that the ``unlawful and forcible transfer'' of Palestinians under Israeli occupation was a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

``Under the Rome Statute such violations may also constitute crimes against humanity,'' the London-based rights group said.

Leah Tzemel, an Israeli lawyer for the Ajouri siblings and a human rights campaigner, saw a silver lining in the decision.

``The court ruled with a loud voice that deterrence cannot be a cause to take steps. This is a very, very positive point,'' she told Israel Radio.

But Erekat told Reuters: ``Israel has approved in principle the concept of collective punishment.''

``There is absolutely no cause for celebration by the security forces,'' legal analyst Moshe Negbi told Israel Radio. ``The court basically said in a clear and decisive way that you cannot harm the rights of an innocent person who is not a terrorist.

Israel used expulsion tactics in the first Palestinian uprising, from 1987 to 1993, banishing 415 suspected Islamic militants to Lebanon, a move that did little to quell anti-Israeli violence. Most returned to the Gaza Strip and West Bank within a year of their 1992 expulsion.

Ismail Abu Shanab, a senior official in the militant Islamic group Hamas, said the deportation ruling was a ``grave escalation'' which ``will be met by an escalation in the Palestinian resistance.''
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-mideast.html