The United States has begun secretly deporting Palestinians to the occupied West Bank in coordination with Israel, raising serious questions under international law about the deportation of individuals to territory under military occupation.
According to an investigation by +972 Magazine, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has conducted multiple deportations of Palestinians to the West Bank in recent months, working directly with Israeli authorities to facilitate the transfers.
The deportations represent a departure from standard practice and raise legal concerns about sending individuals to occupied territory rather than to recognized sovereign states. The West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967, and its legal status remains disputed under international law.
Legal Questions
International law experts interviewed about the deportations expressed concern about the precedent. Deportations to occupied territory raise questions under the Fourth Geneva Convention, which governs the treatment of civilians in occupied areas. The convention prohibits the transfer of populations into or out of occupied territory by the occupying power.
While the United States is not the occupying power in this case, legal scholars note that facilitating deportations to such territory creates novel jurisdictional questions. ICE typically deports individuals to their country of citizenship or, in cases involving stateless persons, to countries that will accept them.
Palestinians in the United States often lack formal citizenship anywhere. The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited civil authority in parts of the West Bank, is not a recognized state by the United States. Israel controls borders, airspace, and security in the territory.
Coordination with Israel
The report indicates that the deportations require Israeli cooperation, as Israel controls all entry points to the West Bank. This coordination suggests a policy-level agreement between Washington and Jerusalem on handling Palestinian deportation cases.
ICE declined to comment on specific deportation operations when contacted. Israeli officials also declined to provide details about the arrangement.
Humanitarian Concerns
Palestinian advocacy groups have raised alarms about the deportations, noting that individuals sent to the West Bank may face restrictions on movement, difficulty accessing employment, and separation from family members who hold citizenship elsewhere.
The West Bank remains under complex layers of control, with Israel maintaining security authority and the Palestinian Authority exercising varying degrees of civil administration. Palestinians deported there may face significant challenges reestablishing their lives.
To understand today's headlines, we must look at yesterday's decisions. U.S. deportation policy has long grappled with the question of stateless persons and individuals whose countries of origin refuse to accept them. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict adds additional layers of legal and political complexity.
Broader Context
The deportations occur against the backdrop of intensified immigration enforcement in the United States and deepening U.S.-Israeli security cooperation. The Trump administration has emphasized deportations of individuals without legal status, regardless of the diplomatic or legal complications involved.
For Palestinians in the United States, many of whom fled conflicts in Lebanon, Syria, or the Palestinian territories themselves, the deportations create profound anxiety. Some have lived in the United States for decades without resolving their immigration status due to the lack of a Palestinian state to issue them passports.
The full scope of the deportation program remains unclear. What is certain is that it raises unprecedented questions about immigration enforcement, international law, and the United States' role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
