A new Israeli military order will not lead to the deportation of large numbers of Palestinians from the West Bank, an Israeli army major said.
Avichai Adrai, the Israeli army spokesman for the Arabic media, In a conference call Tuesday with Palestinian journalists said that the military order designed to prevent infiltrations into the West Bank by requiring that residents have proper identification will actually help legalize the presence of Gaza Palestinians who fled the coastal strip and now reside in the West Bank. The call was sponsored by The Israel Project.
Americans for Peace now charged that the new order, which went into effect Tuesday, could lead to the arrest of an unknown number of Palestinians residents of the West Bank, as well as internationals living and working there.
“This move is bad for peace and bad for Israel,” APN President Debra DeLee said in a statement. “At a time when Israel is worried about an international campaign to de-legitimize it, one is hard pressed to understand why Israel’s leaders would implement a new policy that can only paint Israel as a country that tramples on Palestinian civilians and is determined to stamp out peaceful protest.”
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