Israel expels two relatives of Palestinian militant

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israel expelled two Palestinians from the West Bank, driving them blindfolded into the Gaza Strip and leaving them at a deserted fig orchard Wednesday -- the first time Israel has forced relatives of militants to leave their home areas.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat condemned the court-sanctioned expulsions as a "crime against humanity that violates all human and international laws."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan echoed Arafat's assessment.

"Such transfers are strictly prohibited by international humanitarian law and could have very serious political and security implications," said Annan spokesman Fred Eckhard.

"While the secretary-general has consistently condemned suicide bombings and upheld Israel's right to defend itself, he wishes to stress that self-defense cannot justify measures that amount to collective punishments," Eckhard said.

Israel's military maintains that the threat of sanctions against relatives is a powerful deterrent for Palestinian militants who might be planning attacks.

Political settlement

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that for the first time in nearly two years of violence, he sees the possibility of a political settlement with the Palestinians because many now realize they cannot defeat Israel by force.

In a ruling Tuesday, Israel's Supreme Court sanctioned the practice of expelling relatives of attackers, but only if they pose a security threat to Israel. The court approved the expulsion of Intisar and Kifah Ajouri, siblings of bomb expert Ali Ajouri, but overturned an order against a third person.

Israel says Ali Ajouri sent two suicide bombers into Tel Aviv on July 17, where they blew themselves up, killing two Israelis and four foreign workers. Ajouri was killed later in an Israeli military strike.

The Israeli military spirited the Palestinians in armored vehicles to the orchard in Palestinian-controlled territory, avoiding Palestinian onlookers and reporters who waited at the Erez crossing point between Gaza and Israel for the arrival of the two.

The Israeli military said the two had each been given $212 as an "adjustment grant" for their two-year exile in Gaza.

Expulsion is seen by the Palestinians as severe punishment. Palestinians live in extended families, are deeply rooted in their communities and are much less mobile than people in Western societies.

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said the military might expel additional relatives of terror suspects. After attacks in July, the military detained 19 relatives of suspected militants.

, hoping to ship them all to Gaza, but Israel's attorney general limited the measure to those directly involved in attacks.