The United States Supreme Court says it will hear an appeal by the Justice Department, in the case of seven Palestinians who have been resisting deportation for eleven years.

Immigration officials say the Palestinians ,together with the Kenyan-born wife of one of the men, are supporters of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- which has been classified by the US government as a terrorist organisation.

But in a ruling which was later upheld on appeal, the deportations were blocked by a federal judge, who said the front had been engaged in a wide range of legal activities.