Palestinian political groups on Sunday condemned Israel’s deportation of Palestinian-French lawyer and former detainee Salah Hamouri, the Middle East Monitor reported.

“This move is a continuation of the Israeli policy of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement aimed at expelling the Palestinians and banishing them from their land,” the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas said in a statement.

“In light of this arbitrary decision which blatantly violates international norms and conventions, the international community and human rights organizations should take serious measures, condemn this crime, and put pressure on the Israeli occupation to backtrack on it.”

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said that the expulsion of Hamouri, which uprooted him from his home city, was a political decision.

“He was expelled from Jerusalem because he has been calling for the freedom of his fellow Palestinians, as well as calling for an end to the Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes and aggression against Palestinian women and children.”

The PFLP also described the move as “ethnic cleansing” as part of the occupation state’s efforts to expel the “indigenous residents” from the Holy City. “This is a flagrant violation of international law,” it added.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs called for Hamouri to be returned to his home along with his wife and children. “Hamouri’s expulsion from Jerusalem highlights the need for the Palestinians to have international protection from these Israeli practices.”

Hamouri was deported Sunday morning to France following Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked’s decision to withdraw his residency status.

(PC, MEMO, SOCIAL)