Organization: Queen's University at Kingston
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 06:06:24 EST
From: Andy <2893684@QUCDN.QueensU.CA>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject:    Expulsions

Israel's mass expulsion of almost 400 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza
Strip has pushed tensions in the occupied territories to a flash-point. Coming
in the midst of extended curfews over much of the occupied territories, the
deportations will only provide unneeded momentum to a downward spiral of
unrest and violence. Immediate intervention by the international community is
required to bring Israel in line with international law and to ensure Israeli
resect for universally recognised standards of human rights.

The families of an estimated 1500 Palestinians arrested in massive raids this
past week are today trying to determine if their relatives were among the 383
Palestinians trucked across the border into Lebanon late yesterday. The
deportations took place less than 24 hours after the Israeli cabinet ordered
the expulsions be carried out in secrecy (Incredibly, all cabinet memebers
from the left-of-centre Meretz party, members of which were central to
starting up the human rights group B'Tselem, voted along with the rest of the
cabinet in support of the deportations. The only dissent came from Justice
Minister (Labour) Liba'i). Press censorship was imposed while the detainees
where flown up to the border overnight Wednesday and Thursday, where they were
kept on buses, handcuffed and blindfolded for almost 24 hours before being put
onto trucks and driven into Israel's self-styled "security zone" in southern
Lebanon. The move comes on the heels of a week of violence in which five
Israeli soldiers were killed by Palestinian armed elements. During the same
period seven Palestinians were killed by army gunfire.

Meanwhile, almost one million Palestinians remain under curfew in Hebron and
the Gaza Strip. Most of Gaza has been under a 24 hour curfew since 8 December
without a break. As a result, the economy has been completely shut down with
lost income to the 30,000 Palestinian workers who would normally travel  to
Israeli for work fast approaching U$2.7 million. No produce is entering or
leaving the Strip and farmers have been prevented from harvesting the
cauliflower, cabbage and clementine crops which are in danger of rotting under
the winter rains. Heavy rains and storms have caused extensive flooding in the
Jabalyia and Beach refugee camps presenting massive health risks to over
100,000 people. In Hebron, hospital(s) report the army has refused permission
for ambulance to operate.

(abridged and updated news release)

                  "BIRZEIT UNIVERSITY: NO TO MASS EXPULSIONS!
            Immediate Enforcement of International Law Imperative"

"Birzeit (17 December 1992) - Birzeit University today strongly condemns the
Israeli Cabinet decision to expel 383 Palestinians from the Occupied
Palestinian Territories, in contravention of prevailing international law and
of common humanity. It urges the international community to move beyond formal
condemnation and to take immediate and effective measures to ensure respect
for the Fourth Geneva Convention which, under Article 49, absolutely forbids
deportation "of protected persons from occupied territory" and to implement
United Nations Security Council Resolution 726 of 6 January 1992, which
unanimously rejected Israel's deportation policy and affirmed the
applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.

"Deportation is defined as a "grave breach" of the Fourth Geneva Convention,
tantamount to a war crime. Birzeit University has issued numerous protests
over the years as deportation orders took a steady toll of its faculty and
students, beginning with the expulsion of Birzeit University President Dr.
Hanna Nasir in 1974. Today the Israeli authorities carried out 383 war crimes;
each not only against an individual, but against 383 families and an entire
people. Neither peace, justice nor security for Palestinians or Israelis are
served by Israel's deliberate and massive violation of international law and
of the will of the international community. The mass expulsion of Palest inians
from their homeland must be stopped".

"At least seventeen Birzeit University students were among the over 1,200
Palestinians rounded up in the past few days...."

For Human Rights Information from Palestine and Israel contact:

*Palestine Human Rights Information Centre*
Jerusalem (fax: 02.287-070) or their Chicago office

*Al Haq (West Bank affiliate of the ICJ)*
Ramallah (fax: 02.955194)

*Mandela Institute (human rights and prisoner support organisation)*
Ramallah, tel: 02.955756

*B'Tselem, Israeli Human Rights Organisation monitoring the West Bank and
Gaza*, Jerusalem (fax: 02.617.946)

*Association for Civil Rights in Israel ACRI*
Tel Aviv, (fax: 03.654726)

There are other human rights activists and projects (Hotline for workers,
Human Rights Action Project, et al) but these are some of the principal
organisations. They vary in focus and politics.