Israel Cabinet Reaffirms Expulsions
Israel’s Cabinet closed ranks Sunday against worldwide condemnation and reaffirmed its decision to deport 415 suspected Muslim activists from the occupied lands.
Palestinians staged a protest strike for the third straight day in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli soldiers patrolling the territories were on alert after weekend riots in which six protesters died from army gunfire.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Supreme Court heard an appeal by civil rights lawyers who demanded the return of the Palestinians expelled Thursday into Lebanon. The court recessed after four hours of testimony and said it will rule today.
The mass deportation left the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace process in jeopardy after the Palestinians said they will not participate until the deportees are allowed back.
In an interview published Sunday in the newspaper Yediot Aharonot, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin acknowledged that he might have misjudged reaction to the expulsions. “The result was less positive than we thought,” he said.
The talks with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinians have recessed until after President-elect Bill Clinton’s inauguration Jan. 20.
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