Situation of Salah Hamouri - Q&A - (7 December 2022)

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Q - Despite statements by your ministry (“Salah Hamouri must not be expelled”) in response to a question by Humanité on December 5, Israel has not given up its intention to deport French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri (many NGOs, including the FIDH, emphasize that “the Israeli authorities’ forceful removal of a Palestinian from East Jerusalem to an area outside of occupied territory constitutes a deportation,”) who, moreover, is being maintained in detention until January 1, 2023.

What is your comment on this decision by the Israeli “justice” system? How, given these new facts, can you claim that you are taking action to ensure that Salah Hamouri can live in East Jerusalem with his family and to make Israel respect the rights of our fellow citizen?

R - We clearly spelled out our position to the Israeli authorities. The December 6th hearing, which was attended by our Consul General in Tel Aviv under the rules of consular protection, concluded with the decision to continue detaining Salah Hamouri and to reexamine his situation on January 1, 2023. We are working to ensure that he is able to exercise all of his rights and lead a normal life in Jerusalem, the city where he was born and which he calls home.