The State Department urged Israel on Tuesday to exercise “sensitivity and flexibility” in expelling Palestinians considered illegal residents of the West Bank.
“As we currently understand their policy, the Israelis impose difficult tests of residence,” said State Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler.
She said the United States has discussed with Israel its policy of deporting to Jordan Palestinians who are considered illegal aliens.
“They are well aware of our concern, particulary with regard to divided families,” she said.
Tutwiler may have been reacting to a story Monday in The Washington Post that reported some 200 persons had been expelled during the last six months of 1989.
Most of them were women who had returned from abroad to their ancestral homes in the West Bank, in order to get married.
Their husbands remained in the West Bank. In some cases, children were expelled with their mothers; in other cases, they were allowed to stay with their fathers.
Israel also has expelled Palestinians who have traveled or worked abroad for more than three years, maintaining that they have forfeited their residency rights by staying away for this period.
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