Israel released two Jordanian-born Palestinians who have been living with their families in the West Bank since childhood. The two were arrested in separate circumstances, charged and sentenced to prison terms, both of which ended more than three years ago. Both were kept in prison on their release date. The military issued orders for their deportation, under the Order regarding Prevention of Infiltration, claiming they were not residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), their presence there was illegal, and their release thereto "would gravely endanger the security of the state, the Area and public peace".
While they were incarcerated, the two were officially informed that they bear the onus of proving their Jordanian status, and until they produce the required documentation, they would remain in prison.
HaMoked's petitions to the High Court of Justice to order the military to release them back to the West Bank and cancel the orders for their deportation, were dismissed following the formation of a new military committee for examining deportation orders, designated to review such cases.
On April 17, 2011, the military announced its decision to release both men to their homes in the West Bank. This, when in all previous hearings, before the court and the military committee alike, the state persisted that the men were "a security risk". The two men were conditionally released, after being needlessly imprisoned in Israel for more than three years, without a conviction. The deportation orders against them have yet to be revoked.
Five other Palestinians remain in prisons inside Israel in similar circumstances.
