The government indicated tonight that it will not accede to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance’s appeal against the deportation of Mayor Bassam Shaka of Nablus. Although no direct announcement was made, Cabinet Secretary Arye Naor remarked to reporters after the weekly Cabinet session, “Do you think it is conceivable that the government would accede to this request?” The impression he conveyed was that such a course was unthinkable.
Another Cabinet source told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he was certain the Supreme Court would uphold the government’s expulsion order after it studies the evidence against Shaka. The court issued a temporary injunction last week against the deportation of the pro-Palestine Liberation Organization mayor but refused to order his release from Ramle jail.
Protest strikes on the West Bank against the treatment of Shaka continued today but were sporadic. The Hebron Chamber of Commerce ordered an end to the general strike in that city on grounds that the shut- down of shops imposed a hardship on the residents. But it staged a sit in at the Hebron town hall and there were political assemblies and mass prayers at local mosques. Business establishments remained closed in other West Bank towns, especially in the Samaria district General strikes were in effect in Ramallah and Nablus.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
