A 1967 memo by Theodor Meron reveals: Israeli government’s Ministerial Committee on Security approved deportation of political leaders from the Occupied Territories in spite of the Military Advocate General Meir Shamgar’s warning this was a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
On December 20, 1967 a Ramallah lawyer, Ibrahim Baqer, was deported to Jordan. Davar newspaper reported he was deported for “advocating and practicing non-cooperation with Israeli authorities.” (1) . Press reports of the deportation prompted a telephone call from Theodor Meron, the legal advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to IDF Military Advocate General, Col. Meir Shamgar. Meron said the deportation was a “grave violation” of article 49(1) of the Fourth Geneva Convention. In a memo he later wrote to the ministry’s director general, Meron quoted the section in full. Meron was also concerned over possible diplomatic troubles resulting from the publicity given to the deportation. Shamgar responded that he had warned the Ministerial Committee on Security that deportation of Palestinian residents from the Occupied Territories was a breach of the Geneva Convention, but the committee decided to approve the policy nevertheless, despite his opinion.
Utilizing Regulation 112 of the Emergency (Defence) Regulation 1945, Israel started deporting Palestinian public leaders for their political activity three months earlier, on September 21, 1967. (2) . By 1992, when systemic use of deportation was halted, Israel had deported at least 1,522 people puesuant to Regulation 112. (3)
