Palestinian rights lawyer says deportation won’t stop him

By SYLVIE CORBET
The Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Palestinian lawyer and activist Salah Hammouri is vowing to keep fighting for the rights of the Palestinian people despite his deportation to France following Israel’s claim that he has ties to a banned militant group. Hammouri, who holds French citizenship, landed in Paris on Dec. 18 following months of legal wrangling, despite France’s public opposition to the expulsion. His deportation underscored the fragile status of Palestinians in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, where most hold revocable residency rights but are not Israeli citizens. In an interview with the Associated Press, Hammouri said his deportation to Paris “will leave me only the courage to continue my struggle against the Israeli occupation and to defend the rights of the Palestinian people.”