Israel to expel Jerusalem-area Hamasniks by revoking their residency status. I don't like this AP snippet, because it treats Hamas a political organization, not a terror organization:
Israel has stripped thousands of Palestinians of their residency rights in east Jerusalem since capturing and annexing the area in the 1967 Mideast War. However, human rights activists said Israel has never before stripped Palestinians of Jerusalem residency because of their political affiliation.
Mohammed Abu Tir, Mohammed Totah and Ahmed Atoun are all members of the Palestinian Legislative Council affiliated with Hamas; Khaled Abu Arafa served as Hamas' Minister of Jerusalem Affairs. But I don't buy into proffered distinctions between the Islamic organization's armed and political "wings."
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin himself debunked the idea, as quoted by Reuters:
“We cannot separate the wing from the body. If we do so, the body will not be able to fly. Hamas is one body.”
