Premier Menachem Begin gave his approval today to the return from exile of two West Bank mayors to allow them to appeal against their expulsion, a military spokesman announced here. The two mayors, Mouhomod Milhem of Halhout and Fahed Kawasme of Hebron, were deported last May after Palestinian terrorists killed six Jewish yeshiva students in Hebron. The Israeli authorities charged the two banished mayors with incitement against the Jewish State.
According to today’s announcement, Begin’s decision opens the way for the two mayors to appear before a special military appeals board. The Supreme Court recently criticized the government for refusing to let the two mayors appeal to the military board prior to their expulsion.
The military board, the spokesman said today, will now have to set of date for the hearing. He said the two mayors will be allowed to return to their homes if the board decides on their behalf. But if the earlier decision is upheld, “the two would probably have to get out of the West Bank immediately,” the spokesman said.
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