Expulsion of Palestinian activist from Jerusalem is suspended

Adnan Jith, who had protested against Israeli settlers in Silwan neighbourhood, had said of the expulsion order: "I'm not leaving Jerusalem. Nobody can take a person away from his home and his family." Tara Todras-Whitehill / APShow less

JERUSALEM // A last-minute appeal yesterday halted an attempt by the Israeli military to invoke an obscure law to expel a prominent Palestinian activist from Jerusalem.

Adnan Jith, 34, who has protested against Israeli settlers living in his overwhelmingly Arab neighbourhood of Silwan, just south of the old city, was under an order to leave his home yesterday and remain outside of Jerusalem for four months.

However, following a last-minute appeal by Mr Jith's lawyer, the court suspended the order for a week.

The expulsion order raises further questions about Israel's motivations in Silwan, where demonstrations often turn violent. Israeli police fire tear gas and stun grenades to disperse rock-throwing Palestinian youths there. In September, a private security guard for a Jewish settler in the neighbourhood shot dead a Palestinian man there, sparking violent riots.

Rights groups worry the ban could be used to target others, as part of a perceived wider Israeli move against opponents of its policies toward the Palestinians.

Twenty-two homes in the predominantly Palestinian area of Silwan are slated to be demolished to make way for the construction of a controversial tourism park, King's Gardens. Palestinians view the project as another example of Israel's attempt to forcibly "Judaise" the area with Jewish settlers and cultural sites.

Mr Jith, known for demonstrating against the project, was reportedly arrested several times for inciting violence against Israeli security forces operating in the neighbourhood.

The law used to try to expel Mr Jith was introduced in 1945 by Britain as an emergency measure aimed, primarily, to thwart the activities of Jewish militant groups. At the time, Britain controlled the areas that would later become the state of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Mr Jith received the expulsion order late last month, but had not been formally indicted. He said this week that he had no intention of obeying.

"They claim to have classified information and all sorts of things," he said. "But the truth is that I'm not leaving Jerusalem. Nobody can take a person away from his home and his family."

Israel's military did not present evidence against Mr Jith, but the Israeli daily Haartez quoted an unnamed military spokesmen yesterday as saying that there was "intelligence information that ties Mr Adnan Jith to activities related to public order within the city limits of Jerusalem, such as disturbances in the neighbourhood of Silwan".

Mr Jith's lawyer, Rami Othman, told the newspaper he intended to lodge an appeal with Israel's Supreme Court before yesterday's deadline expired.

Describing the issue as politically motivated, Mr Othman said that if Israel's military "had enough evidence to bring an indictment, they would serve him with an indictment".

East Jerusalem lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel annexed it after the 1967 war in a move that was never internationally recognised. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and the conflicting claims have derailed past peace efforts and sparked bouts of violence.

With current peace efforts at an impasse, any move threatening the delicate status quo in east Jerusalem could raise tensions.

Peace talks broke down in September, in part because of continued Israeli construction in east Jerusalem's Jewish areas.

* With additional reporting from Associated Press