Abu Tir
Abu TirIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Israel's Supreme Court will convene May 17 to discuss expelling four Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Legislative Committee members from Jerusalem.

Israeli authorities ordered the Hamas officials to leave the city in June 2010. Since then they have been sheltering in the Red Cross compound in East Jerusalem to avoid arrest. They turned to the court system of the Jewish state (that they despise and do not recognize) for succor 
 
According to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, the Hamas officials said they feared they would lose their Israeli ID cards and be banned from living in the city. The ID cards are of the type issued to Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem, who do not have Israeli citizenship. Without them, the terror officials would have to move to Judea and Samaria or leave Israel altogether. 
 
The four terror officials called on local and international organizations to oppose any decision by Israel to expel them from Jerusalem.
 
Muhammad Totah, Ahmad Atoun, Muhammad Abu Tir and Khaled Abu Arafah, a former Palestinian minister for Jerusalem affairs, were all elected to the PLC in 2006 as members of Hamas' list. Immediately following their election Israel ordered them to resign or have their Israeli ID cards revoked.
 
When they refused to leave the PLC, they were sentenced to jail terms. Upon their release, authorities confiscated their identity cards, citing the "breach of loyalty to the State of Israel" provision of the 2003 Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law. 
 
Abu Tir was escorted from the city in December 2010 on penalty of imprisonment if he returned.
 
Robert Serry, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, stated at at the time that he was "worried" about the "potential precedent" that Abu Tir's trial set.
 
"This case and that of three other lawmakers currently facing court proceedings continue to raise serious human rights concerns regarding Palestinian residency rights in East Jerusalem," he said.