Two rights groups are worried that an unofficial arrangement with the security forces has been broken and, as a result, three Palestinian homosexuals face expulsion to the territories, where they are likely to be killed as collaborators.
The three were arrested about a month ago and have been held in Abu Kabir. Two are slated for expulsion to the territories today after they were convicted of being in the country illegally. A third is due for trial on Sunday.
At the beginning of the week, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Association of Homosexuals and Lesbians wrote to Interior Minister Avraham Poraz, asking him to use his authority to at least postpone the deportation until the three can find a European country ready to accept them as asylum seekers.
But Poraz's office refused to get involved, citing sensitive security issues, said Shaul Gonen of the Association of Homosexuals and Lesbians. Poraz's response, said Gonen, was surprising because the minister is known for his liberal, humanist worldview, and his Shinui party promised to help the homosexual community during the election campaign.
"There's real reason to fear for their lives if they are sent back to the territories," said Gonen.
In an informal arrangement with the security authorities, his group has provided shelter to 25 gay Palestinians who found refuge in Israel from persecution in their communities, Gonen said.
The three, currently under arrest, have been thoroughly checked by the security authorities, who found no complaint against them, said Gonen, blaming the arrest on the ministry crackdown on illegal Palestinians in the country
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