An influential Palestinian leader who advocates civil disobedience has been barred for six months from entering the West Bank or Gaza Strip.
An administrative order, which also limits his freedom of movement outside the territories, was handed by police to Faisal Husseini, head of the Institute for Arab Studies in East Jerusalem.
It was immediately protested by the Peace Now movement, which accused Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin of persecuting Husseini because he is a moderate.
Husseini said he would not violate the ban, but will fight it in court.
The order was signed by two Israel Defense Force generals, Yitzhak Mordechai, who commands the central region encompassing the West Bank, and Matan Vilnai, the southern region commander whose authority covers the Gaza Strip.
Defense Ministry sources said they acted on the basis of a comprehensive report on Husseini’s political activities in recent months.
He is accused of influencing Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to protest against the IDF presence and the Israeli civil administration in the territories by such means as the recent tax strike in Beit Sahur.
The sources said Husseini allegedly encouraged Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to refuse to accept the new magnetized identification cards issued by the Gaza civil administration. Its purpose was to prevent persons with criminal or security offense records from entering Israel.
Husseini recently spent 18 months in administrative detention. He was held in prison for that time without being charged or tried.
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