Q&A: Israeli expulsion of Palestinians

Barbara Plett, the BBC's Middle East Correspondent, explains the implications of the Israeli military ordering the expulsion of 15 Palestinian detainees from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.

What does this mean for the detainees?

Right now the detainees are in a detention centre at the edge of the Gaza Strip. They have 48 hours to appeal against the army's decision. If their appeal is rejected, they will be sent into Gaza and not allowed to leave, it's not clear if that's for a specified time period or indefinitely. The 15 are administrative detainees , which means they were arrested and held in Israeli prisons without charge or trial.

What are the precedents for this expulsion?

In September 2002 Israel forcibly moved two relatives of a suicide bomber to Gaza, they were accused of assisting him. In May last year Israel also expelled 26 Palestinian militants to Gaza to end a standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. About a dozen Palestinians gunmen were also deported to European countries as part of the same deal. In 1992 Israel deported around 400 Hamas men to Lebanon in response to a series of attacks against Israeli soldiers

Why are the Israelis doing it now?

After the suicide bombing in Haifa ten days ago that killed 20 people, reports said Israel might renew its internal expulsion policy, probably because it's looking for new or different ways to respond to the attacks. Human Rights Groups say such forcible transfers violate international law, but Israel argues it has the right to defuse possible security threats

What are the implications for the peace process?

No implications as far as I can see, there's not really a working peace process in place, the formal avenue -- a peace plan known as the Roadmap -- is stalled

Is this the writing on the wall for Arafat - is he next?

Arafat is a separate and standing issue. The Israeli cabinet has taken a decision in principle to expel him, but it's widely believed such an action could have far reaching consequences for the region and Israel is not expected to move against Mr. Arafat unless it gets a green, or at least an amber, light from the Americans, something that hasn't happened.