Military Order Targets Thousands of Palestinians for Deportation

Two signed military orders awaiting implementation give military officials broad and almost total control over the deportation of tens of thousands Palestinians whose residency status in the West Bank is called into question.

When the order comes into effect, tens of thousands of Palestinians will automatically become criminal offenders liable to be severely punished.

The Hamoked Center for the Defense of the Individual alleged that the order will be used to deport residents of Gaza from the West Bank, and will likely also target foreign passport holders and non-Palestinian spouses of West Bank residents.

The center said tens of thousands of Palestinians and West Bank residents could be caught in the net of the orders, which "Israeli" journalist Amira Hass said in a Sunday report were "expected to clamp down on protests in the West Bank."

The new orders, by substantively changing the definition of an "infiltrator," HaMoked said in a statement "effectively apply to anyone who is present in the West Bank without an "Israeli" permit," noting "the orders do not define what "Israel" considers a valid permit," and that "the vast majority of people now living in the West Bank have never been required to hold any sort of permit to be present therein."

In the latest order, an "infiltrator" is defined as: "A person who entered the Area unlawfully following the effective date, or a person who is present in the Area and does not lawfully hold a permit."

The presumption that the orders will be used to clamp-down on Palestinians participating in popular protests against land confiscation and the construction of the separation wall follows a series of failed measures by the "Israeli" army to stifle the increasingly broadly supported actions.

The second amendment, the HaMoked statement said, will allow the "Israeli" military to "prosecute and deport any Palestinian defined as [an] infiltrator in stark contradiction to the Geneva Convention," and noted that "there is a possibility that some of the deportees will not be given an opportunity for a hearing before being removed from the West Bank."

According to the orders, the deportation may be executed within 72 hours whereas it is possible to delay bringing a person before the appeals committee for up to eight days from issuance of a deportation order.