Israel moves bomber relatives

Tel Aviv

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled this week that the government may expel the relatives of suicide bombers from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip if it proves they pose a security threat. The case involved the brother and sister of a Palestinian man convicted of dispatching suicide bombers who killed five people. The Israeli military said the siblings had advance knowledge of the attacks. Palestinian officials said the decision amounts to “collective punishment,” which is banned by international law. They said Israel could use the tactic to transfer much of the Palestinian population from the West Bank to Gaza, which is much easier to monitor. Gaza is a fenced-in strip of land, while the West Bank has a long, porous border with Israel.