Israel says it will deport Palestinian lawyer to France

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel says it has stripped a Palestinian lawyer of his Jerusalem residency and will deport him to France, claiming the man is an activist in a banned militant group. Thursday’s decision by Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked underscores the fragile status of Jerusalem’s Palestinians, who hold Israeli residency rights but are not citizens. It also threatened to trigger a diplomatic spat with France, which has argued against the deportation. Salah Hammouri has been held since March in administrative detention – an Israeli tool that allows authorities to hold suspects without charge for months at a time. Shaked said that after Hammouri’s detention expires this weekend, he would be deported to France. Hammouri is a lifelong Jerusalem resident but holds French citizenship.