U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar called on Israel to rescind its recent deportation of 13 Palestinians from the administered territories.
A spokesman for Perez de Cuellar said in a statement Wednesday that the U.N. official was “dismayed” by the expulsions of the Palestinians to Lebanon, which took place over the weekend.
He called the deportations a “clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention,” which govern the behavior of an occupying power, and hoped for the prompt return of the Palestinians to their homes and families.
Israeli officials said Sunday that the 13 deportees were leaders of the Palestinian uprising. Two other Palestinians left for Lebanon voluntarily.
A spokesperson at Israel’s mission to the United Nations declined to comment on Perez de Cuellar’s statements.
Perez de Cuellar met earlier in the day with Lebanese U.N. representative Rachid Fakhoury. The Lebanese diplomat circulated a letter Wednesday calling on the United Nations to bring pressure on Israel to desist deporting Palestinians to Lebanon.
The letter noted that Israel had deported 48 Palestinians to Lebanon since the beginning of 1988.
The deportations also drew a rebuke this week from the U.S. State Department and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
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