Israeli minister orders expulsion of Palestinian attacker's family members

Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked has ordered the expulsion of families of a Palestinian man who carried out an attack five years ago in East Jerusalem.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Shaked said that she sent a notice to seven family members of Fadi al-Qanbar who killed four Israeli soldiers when he rammed his truck into a group of troopers in East Jerusalem's Abu Tor neighbourhood in 2017, asking them to "leave the country within a week or (they will) be forcefully evicted", reports Xinhua news agency.

The Minister also asked Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev to prepare policing forces to expel the seven if they won't leave by October 6.

"Israel should fight terrorism with all the available means and it's time to use also this tool for deterrence," Shaked said.

The recent move came after a ruling by a Jerusalem court on September 21 that Israel can revoke the residency permits of al-Qanbar's 17 family members.

The Palestinian family lives in Jabel Mukaber, a neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

In past years, several Israeli interior ministers made attempts to expel family members of Palestinian attackers but were usually blocked by the Supreme Court.

The al-Qanbar family told the Israeli daily Ha'aretz newspaper that they intend to appeal the ruling.

--IANS

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