Israeli security forces arrested Khalil Abu-Ziad, a reputed Fatah leader in the territories, at 12:30 a.m. this morning and handed him a deportation order signed by Gen. Amnon Shahak, head of the Central Command. He was given 48 hours to appeal to a military court for the rescinding of the order.
If the order — which can also be appealed before the Supreme Court — is implemented, Abu-Ziad’s deportation would become the first such action under the new strong-arm policy in the territories approved by the Cabinet at its weekly session last Sunday.
An Army spokesman said today that Abu-Ziad is a senior leader of Fatah in the territories and is involved in terrorist and subversive activities. He also said Abu-Ziad maintains contact with people active in Fatah, both inside and outside the territories.
RETURNED AND THEN REARRESTED
Abu-Ziad has served ten years in prison for Fatah activities. He was first arrested on suspicion of Fatah activities in September 1979. He was released, then rearrested two months later, when the authorities uncovered a widespread Fatah network. He was charged with heading a terrorist cell, undergoing military training, receiving Fatah funds from abroad, and distributing Fatah funds in the territories.
Upon his release in November 1980, Abu-Ziad opened a bookstore in East Jerusalem. In 1982, he was placed under house arrest for allegedly carrying on Fatah activities and making his store a meeting-place for PLO activists. Military sources here said Abu-Ziad violated the house arrest orders.
Abu-Ziad’s attorney, Amnon Zichroni, said he will seek an interim court order to delay the deportation order while he prepares his client’s appeal. He will attempt to overturn the precedents of the deportations of the late Hebron Mayor Fahed Kawasme and Halhoul Mayor Mohammed Milhim in 1980. These were approved by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the Geneva Convention banning deportation does not apply in the territories.
The deportation order was condemned by Meir Wilner of the Hadash Communist Party as a surrender to the pressure of the Kahanists. Leaders of the Progressive List for Peace said Abu-Ziad should be brought to trial, and that the strong-arm policy in the territories would only increase terrorism and violence. The Citizens Rights Society stated that the judicial system provided sufficent legal mechanisms to cope with subversion and incitement, and that there was no need for deportation.
Minister of Police Haim Barlev said that the deportation policy in the territories would continue, if necessary. This policy, he said, would bring about calm in the territories.
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