Military Tribunai Postpones Hearing on Shaka Appeae

Efforts to avert the deportation of Nablus Mayor Bassam Shaka continued today but a hearing on his appeal against expulsion was delayed. The military appeals board that was scheduled to meet today at Ramle jail where Shaka is confined postponed its session until tomorrow. Defense Ministry sources were quoted as saying that Shaka will be deported unless the outcome of the legal process is in his favor.

So far, Shaka has had little success. The Supreme Court refused to order his release from jail and declined to hear his appeal until all other legal procedures are exhausted. If the military appeals board rejects his arguments against expulsion, he will have three days to renew his appeal to the high court.

Al though the prospects seem bleak, West Bank leaders, notably Mayor Elias Freij of Bethlehem, are continuing to seek a compromise formula that would allow Shaka to remain in Nablus. But Shaka, who is in the second week of a hunger strike, reportedly rejected any compromise that would require him to resign from office.

He reportedly expressed willingness to talk to the media and “clarify his views concerning terrorist actions.” Shaka’s deportation was ordered originally on the basis of alleged statements he made to a Defense Ministry official justifying terrorist acts that took civilian lives.

The Shaka case was the subject of a telephone conversation over the weekend between Defense Minister Ezer Weizman and Egyptian Defense Minister Kamal Hassan Ali, Senior sources at the Defense Ministry denied yesterday that the Egyptians have warned Israel of possible repercussions if Shaka is deported. Israel has told Egyptian officials in the past that the Shaka case involves internal security and that it would not tolerate foreign interference in the matter.