Attempts to punish families of militants blocked in court

JERUSALEM -- As Israel moved to punish the relatives of Palestinian militants, the army tore down two family homes belonging to terror suspects, but the Supreme Court temporarily blocked plans to expel three siblings of alleged attackers to the Gaza Strip.

The two sides also waged a fierce debate about the legality and the effectiveness of such steps. Israel argued that the measures have deterred some would-be suicide bombers from carrying out attacks, while Palestinians called them collective punishment.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called the proposed expulsions to Gaza a "crime that cannot be accepted, that is against international and humanitarian law."

An Israeli military court on Monday ruled that the three Palestinians could be transported from the West Bank, where they have lived all their lives, to the Gaza Strip, where they have no family ties. The three have not been formally charged or convicted of a crime, but the army alleges they had knowledge and aided attacks their brothers carried out.

The court decision marked the first time a legal body ruled that Palestinians suspected of involvement in attacks could be expelled.

However, Israeli Supreme Court Justice Dalia Dorner on Tuesday froze the expulsion orders for 15 days. During this period, the Israeli military must submit arguments on why it should be allowed to proceed with what it calls an "order limiting the place of residency." A hearing is likely to take place near the end of the 15-day period.

Moshe Negbi, an Israeli legal analyst, said the temporary injunction signaled that "the court does see legal difficulties for Israel," and possibly action against the state in the international criminal court, if the expulsions are carried out.

Dan Yakir, legal adviser of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel, said expulsions and demolitions "are not only immoral and cruel and violate the Geneva Conventions, but they will bring about the opposite result, the creation of more suicide bombers."

The three Palestinians slated for expulsion are Intisar and Kifah Ajouri, sister and brother of Ali Ajouri, who orchestrated suicide bombings, and Abdel Nasser Asidi, brother of a Hamas activist accused of involvement in two West Bank bus ambushes that killed 19 Israelis.

Israel charges that Intisar Ajouri sewed an explosive belt for a suicide bomber. She told the military court that she didn't have anything to do with the bombing and didn't know how to sew. Also, she was detained by Israel in early June, human rights groups said, more than a month before the July 17 suicide attack in Tel Aviv that her brother Ali Ajouri organized.

Justice Ministry spokesman Yaacov Galanty said he was not familiar with the details of the case, but "she could have sewn the belts before she was detained."