Netanyahu tries to deport Arab-Jerusalemites to Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to move Arab Jerusalemites to the Gaza Strip to reduce tensions in the occupied city, an Israeli newspaper has claimed.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, during an emergency meeting held by Netanyahu on Wednesday evening, there was a feeling that a “new and effective security operation” should be embarked upon, “something that changes the rules of the game at once, otherwise we will enter into an Intifada”. They agreed that “what doesn’t succeed using force, succeeds using greater force!”

The newspaper added that the head of the Shin Bet Yoram Cohen,who supports Netanyahu’s plan, has the hardline approach to the situation in Jerusalem. It said he is ” strongly convinced by the effectiveness of [collective] punishments: the imposition of prison sentences and fines for parents whose children throw stones, the demolition of houses, deportation to the Gaza Strip, the collection of taxes by force.”

The Israeli police headquarters, the newspaper reported, supports Cohen’s position, as does the Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat.

Israel’s Attorney General, Yehuda Weinstein, opposed the idea of collective punishment, saying he is not convinced that the imposition of such sanctions on relatives and neighbours would be a deterrence, and it may have the reverse effect: “The escalation of hatred and the search for revenge.”

During the recent war on Gaza, Weinstein supported plans to deport top Hamas leaders from the West Bank to Gaza.

Recent discussions held at the Israeli Ministry of Justice, with the participation of top experts in international law, concluded with the decision that “deportation is not possible”, because such a step would put Israel in the dock at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

Subsequently, Weinstein summoned Professor Yoram Dinstein, an expert in international law who holds right-wing views, he told the Shin Bet chief: “You should not even think about deportation.”

Netanyahu asked Weinstein to respond regarding the deportation of Jerusalemites to Gaza, to which the latter replied: “Do not put pressure on me. If you force me to answer, the answer will be negative.”

The newspaper said that during deliberations yesterday, Netanyahu broached the subject again and Weinstein said that “the subject is complex and thorny”. Netanyahu asked: “Do you still think about it?” Weinstein replied: “Yes.”