Jerusalem: Palestinian-French lawyer fights Israeli deportation | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Ramallah, occupied West Bank – Palestinian-born and human rights lawyer Salah Hammouri, who was born and raised in Jerusalem, is fighting the immediate deportation from his hometown.

The move to expel Hammouri came after Israeli authorities accused him of “breaking allegiance to the State of Israel” and describing him as a “security threat”.

“I live in Limbo because I can’t plan the next 24 hours of my life. I cannot leave Ramallah because I am afraid of being arrested if I cross the checkpoints to enter Israel, ”said Hammouri, who is also a French citizen.

“I can’t visit my house and family in Jerusalem, and I can’t leave the country to travel to France to see my wife and children, because I won’t let them return,” Al Jazeera said.

Hammouri’s pregnant wife Elsa was denied entry to Israel in 2016 despite a work visa.

“They were held at Ben Gurion airport for several days and then deported to France,” Hammouri said. “I used to leave the country every three months to go see my wife and two children, but now that’s impossible.”

‘Out of question’

On October 18, Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked officially informed the 36-year-old. Palestinian-French human rights defender The removal of a permanent residence in Jerusalem, “for violating allegiance to the State of Israel.”

The decision was already approved by Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit and Justice Minister Gideon Saar.

Last year, Hammouri was officially informed that the Interior Ministry intended to remove the Jerusalem headquarters. He was told in writing that he could challenge the move within 30 days.

“Deportation and leaving my hometown is essential. Israel has no right to expel Palestinians from their homeland, nor to deny us the right to live in our cities, ”Hammouri said.

Thousands of Palestinians have lived “illegally” in Jerusalem and Israel because the Israeli authorities deny them residency rights to Palestinians in the West Bank or foreigners married to Jerusalemites, unlike Israeli Jews who are automatically granted residence and citizenship to their spouses.

Israel’s denial of residency rights to Palestinian spouses is based on its Citizenship and Israeli Inclusion Act, allegedly for security reasons, but critics believe it is part of a policy to change the demographics occupied in East Jerusalem in favor of a Jewish majority.

“As a result, to date, thousands of Palestinian spouses of Israeli citizens or residents have to live in their homes for years without permission for a military stay and social security rights,” the Israeli rights group Hamoked said.

“In the fewest cases, those who applied for family reunification and received initial approval before the law came into force receive a temporary status in Israel, which gives them social security rights but does not give them a sense of stability in their homes.”

‘Breaking Loyalty’

International humanitarian law explicitly prohibits loyalty to the employed population by an occupying power, as provided for in Article 45 of the Hague Regulation and Article 68 (3) of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Israel violates Article 43 of the Hague Regulation and Article 64 of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied East Jerusalem for the Abolition of Palestinian Residential Rights, which stipulates that the occupying power cannot act as a sovereign legislator or extend its legislation in the occupied territory. .

According to a 2018 Human Rights Watch report, at least 14,595 Palestinians in Jerusalem have been displaced by Israel since 1967, with the majority being a “center of life” outside of Jerusalem.

The removal of Hammuri’s residence, however, is the first based on a “breach of allegiance to Israel.”

He said the steps being taken against him were politically motivated because of his human rights work and “loud opposition” to the Israeli occupation. He was first arrested as a teenager for painting political graffiti on a wall.

Hammouri was sentenced to 10 years in prison, along with another Palestinian, for allegedly participating in the beginning of a conspiracy to attack a rabbi of the Israeli Shas political party. going forward.

He was allowed to be exiled to France, where his mother and wife were natives, or to serve a prison sentence; he refused to be deported from his homeland.

“I served a seven-year sentence in 2011 before being released in an agreement in exchange for Israeli-Palestinian prisoners,” Hammouri said.

“I was then arrested several times and placed in administrative detention for a period of about two years without being charged,” he added, referring to Israel’s policy of detaining Palestinians without trial or charge.

His Israeli lawyer, Lea Tsemel, said the appeal against the deportation could last for months and that any local court decision would be affected by any court decision.

He also admitted that there was a chance that the appeal would not be won, but that would not prevent them from taking the time to continue fighting for justice.

“We have a number of arguments that we want to use in terms of Hammuri’s actions and his non-actions,” Tsemel told Al Jazeera.

Israel took over occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, a movement that is not recognized internationally and goes against international law.

“The Palestinians had no choice but to annex,” Tsemel said. “It was only later that the Israeli court changed the law so that the Interior Ministry could deny Palestinians residence because they did not swear allegiance to the state or commit a crime.

“We are arguing that the neighbors of East Jerusalem are not forced to be loyal to a non-citizen state and that occupation was imposed on them. Moreover, under international law, people in occupation are not obliged to be loyal to the occupying power and also have the right to oppose the occupation. ”

Family reunion in Jerusalem

The Citizenship and Israel Entry Act is renewed every six months, but expired on July 6 after the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, voted to extend the bill.

“In just a few weeks it became clear that the Home Secretary had instructed the secretaries of the ministry not to process applications for citizenship or permanent status that until recently applied to them – a population of more than 13,000 people, despite repeated human rights organizations. to the ministry, ”Hamoked reported.

Hamoked, the Israeli Civil Rights Association (ACRI) and the Human Rights Physicians petitioned the Supreme Court to force them to process requests to join the Interior Ministry.

“So far there has been no hearing; we have asked for the case to be tried in the main court rather than in the district court, and we are awaiting a decision on that request,” Hamoked executive director Jessica Montell told Al Jazeera.

“The state must submit its response to the request, but has requested an extension.”

Hammouri was a pro-Palestinian rights activist infected with a Pegasus spyware marketed by Israeli technology company NSO, according to an extensive investigation by Frontline Defenders, in a technical report with Amnesty International and the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. , which independently confirmed the results.

Addameer told Palestinian rights group Milena Ansari Al Jazeera that Israel has been trying to expel Hammouri for years.

“There is no evidence against him regarding his recent arrests and the Israelis have abandoned his work as a human rights lawyer who has been involved as a qualified lawyer for years,” Ansari said.

Hammouri acknowledged that his life would be easier if he left Palestine to live in France with his family, but said this is not an option.

“It’s not a matter of me leaving. I will exhaust all avenues to continue living in Jerusalem, that is my right, ”he said.

“I was born in Jerusalem, I grew up in Jerusalem, my memories are there, my life is there. Living in Jerusalem is my right and I will continue to fight for that right, even though I know the road is long and hard. ”