Israel deports Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri to France

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Israel on Sunday deported Palestinian activist and lawyer Salah Hamouri from occupied East Jerusalem to France, according to a local NGO.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said Hamouri was sent to France although the legal procedures for his deportation were not yet completed.

According to the NGO, an Israeli court was scheduled to look into his deportation order on Jan. 1 and an Israeli decision to revoke his Jerusalem residency.

“Israeli occupation authorities have continued to persecute Hamouri over the past years, to complete the crime of his deportation to France,” it added.

Hamouri, a resident of East Jerusalem, is a French-Palestinian human rights defender. He was detained in March by Israeli forces under Israel’s policy of administrative detention without charge or trial. His imprisonment ended on Dec. 5.

Israel accuses Hamouri of being an activist in "a banned militant group,” in reference to his membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Hamouri was previously released by Israel in 2011 under a prisoner swap deal with Palestinian resistance group Hamas to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

The French government has repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to release Hamouri and allow him live with his family in Jerusalem.

Under Israeli law, the interior minister has the power to revoke the residency of Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar​​​​​​​