Israel’s Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein told senior security officials Thursday that it is legal to expel to Gaza Strip suicide bombers' relatives who have been proven to be involved in the attacks.
On July 21, Israel arrested 21 relatives of the Palestinians responsible for the attacks in Emmanuel and Tel. Most of the relatives of the bombers who were not found to be linked to the attacks will probably be released shortly, Haaretz reported.
Rubinstein consulted Thursday with representatives of the State Prosecutor's Office, the Israeli army and the defense establishment immediately after the Shin Bet security service presented him with findings that show that at least two of the relatives were directly involved in the attacks.
Rubenstein examined the evidence presented to him, and ruled that for some of the relatives there was sufficient evidence linking them directly to “acts of terror,” the daily added. Thus, Rubinstein ruled that those relatives guilty of involvement could legally be expelled to Gaza.
It now seems certain that a High Court petition against the expulsions, submitted by a coalition of human rights groups and subsequently withdrawn, will be resubmitted in the coming days, and the government's legal team will be forced to defend the policy in court.
The Israeli security cabinet Wednesday unanimously approved a plan worked out by the Shin Bet Security Service and the Israeli army aimed at countering suicide bombings.
Israeli security officials told the ministers that they plan to order the expulsion to the Gaza Strip of at least one relative of Palestinians from the Nablus area who participated in attacks in the West Bank settlement of Emmanuel and in Tel Aviv. I
srael's Center for the Defense of the Individual said the West bank army leadership had announced that Kifah Adjuri, 28, from Askar refugee camp, and Abdel Nasser Assidi, 34, from the village of Tel, both in the West Bank, would each be expelled for two years.
Meanwhile in Washington, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres defended Israeli raids targeting Palestinian activists, arguing after talks with President George W. Bush that they represented the sole defense against suicide bombers.
Peres, who also met Pentagon officials and was to hold talks at the State Department later, said Israel had no intention of permanently reoccupying areas supposed to be under Palestinian control.
"There is one thing which seems to us kind of the answer, we cannot fight a suicide bomber once he's on his way, because neither the police nor the military can stop him -- he will explode himself. "The only place we can prevent the catastrophe from happening is at the birthplace, where suicide bombers are being trained, mobilized, and that is the reason why we enter the cities. We don't intend to remain there.”
Peres said he had a enjoyable and friendly meeting with national security advisor Condoleezza Rice, before they were joined by Bush himself. "Basically, we see eye to eye on all of the issues, namely to get rid of terror at large and suicide bombers in particular," Peres said, according to AFP. (Albawaba.com)
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