JERUSALEM (JTA) — An American Jew who made aliyah four months ago was expelled from the West Bank for expressing support for an alleged Jewish terrorist.
The Israeli army ordered Ephraim Khantsis, 22, formerly from the Bensonhurst section in Brooklyn, N.Y., to stay out of the West Bank for six months after he was heard speaking in support of Yaakov Teitel, an American immigrant to Israel who was arrested in November and charged with the murders of two Palestinians and the attempted murders of Jews.
Khantsis was studying in Jerusalem at the Machon Meir Yeshiva, but had been spending a great deal of time at the West Bank settlement of Kfar Tapuah.
"The decree was issued because of intelligence information suggesting that he was a danger to public peace and security in the area," the Israel Defense Forces reportedly said in a statement.
