Israeli court suspends expulsions

ISRAEL'S Supreme Court yesterday temporarily halted the expulsion of relatives of Palestinian terror suspects from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, as troops demolished the homes of two Palestinian militants.

House demolitions and expulsion orders are part of Israel's increasing efforts to stop attacks on its citizens by targeting assailants' families.

Two buildings were destroyed early yesterday in the town of Dahariya and the village of Doha, both in the southern West Bank. And a military court on Monday ordered the expulsion of three relatives of a suicide bomber and a man who gave an explosives belt to a bomber. But yesterday the three appealed to the Supreme Court, which blocked the expulsions for 15 days.

During this period, the Israeli military must submit its case for being allowed to go ahead with the expulsions, which have been condemned by human rights lawyers and Palestinian officials as a violation of international law.

The three relatives listed for expulsion are Intisar and Kifah Ajouri, sister and brother of Ali Ajouri, who was accused of handing explosives belts to suicide bombers, and Abdel Nasser Asidi, brother of a Hamas activist who is suspected of killing several Israelis.