Israel to Hamas officials in J'lem: Quit group or leave the city
Israeli interior Minister Roni Bar-On has issued an extraordinary threat to four members of Hamas who live in East Jerusalem, telling them that they must either leave the party or be expelled from the city.
This is a puzzling way for a democracy to behave. I have nothing but contempt for members of the BNP and the National Front, but I accept that in any healthy democracy all ideas must circulate freely, not just my own.
Apparently this rule does not apply in the Occupied Territories.
In the wake of the announcement, Abu Arafa said "we didn't do anything to violate Israeli law, and there is no legal reason for this decision. The interior minister is motivated by his desire to Judaize Jerusalem. We will fight the decision and will defeat it via legal means."Whether or not the men are members of Hamas seems to me an irrelevance when it comes to the issue of whether or not they may continue to live in East Jerusalem. If they have committed a crime, they should be arrested; but you cannot tell someone that their dwelling rights are contingent on any beliefs that they may or may not hold.
Abu Tir said, "No one can deport residents of the holy city from their lands. We will fight this erroneous decision every way we can via the Israeli legal system, the international courts, Palestinian public opinion and the Arab world opinion - in order to defeat these Israeli intentions."
Abu Tir has been detained repeatedly by Jerusalem police for political activity in the city.
The issue is likely to end up in the Supreme Court. Human rights groups say Israel has no right to revoke Jerusalem residency rights from Palestinians who live there.
The three parliament members registered for the Palestinian elections and ran as "independent candidates" rather than as Hamas members or as members of the Hamas-affiliated "The Reform and Change Party."
A senior West Bank Hamas official who did not want his identity revealed said Israel was using its powers unfairly.
"Israel is using blackmail to force Hamas to make concessions, this is against international law," he said.
That would appear to me to be the antithesis of democracy.
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2 comments:
Kel,
this could also be wilfully done in order to provoke a violent reaction as opposed to the legal one they're getting in order to delegitimize Hamas. I agree with you, regardless on one's stance, a democracy needs to uphold its principles and cannot deny someone legitimate rights.
Ingrid
Ingrid,
Thanks for posting. I take your point.
The closing of the Karni Crossing and the withholding of funds by Israel, the US and the EU, have all conrtributed to an increase in tension in the territories.
This could certainly be being done to increase tensions even further.
Kel.
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