On Sunday Haaretz revealed
that a new military order aimed at preventing infiltration will come
into force this week, enabling the deportation of tens of thousands
of Palestinians from the West Bank, or their indictment on charges
carrying prison terms of up to seven years.
The measure, due to come into force on Tuesday, "threatens the emptying of large areas of land from its Palestinian inhabitants," Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in a statement.
Ten Israeli human rights
organizations have appealed to Defense Minister Ehud Barak to freeze
the orders, which were issued on October 13, 2009, with the provision
they come into force within six months.
The military orders class people living in the West Bank without the proper documentation as "infiltrators".
"The order targets
thousands of Palestinians from Gaza who work and live in the West
Bank and could lead to their forced deportation to the Gaza Strip,"
Fayyad said.
Also affected are
Palestinians who have identification papers from neighboring
countries as well as foreign women married to Palestinians residing
in the West Bank.
Fayyad said the measures
contradict International Humanitarian Law as well as UN Security
Council decisions which condemn forced deportations.
With the measures, Israel
"aims at deepening the hold of the occupation in the West Bank
and facilitating more Israel land-grab," the prime minister
said.
Earlier Monday, Arab
League Secretary General Amr Moussa also condemned the Israeli move,
telling reporters in Damascus that "it is hard to establish real
peace in the region due to the Israeli measure." His comments
followed a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"We reject such
measures and we call on the international community to bear
responsibility," Moussa said, adding that an Arab League meeting
will be held to discuss the situation.
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