RAMALLAH -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday asked the United States to press Israel to cancel the eviction of a Hamas lawmaker from Jerusalem.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who is in Washington, carried a letter from Abbas to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which asked the U.S. administration to intervene, said Azzam Al-Ahmad, an aide to Abbas.
On Wednesday, an Israeli court ruled to expel Mohammed Abu Tair from Jerusalem, who was later sent to the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Israeli authorities detained Abu Tair in June for entering East Jerusalem following his residency permit was revoked in the 2006 parliament elections, in which Hamas won and routed President Abbas' Fatah party.
Meanwhile, two Hamas lawmakers and a former Hamas minister, who were also sought be deported by Israel, are staying in a protesting tent in Jerusalem in fear of being deported as well.
According to Al-Ahmad, Abbas wrote to Clinton that the eviction of the Jerusalem residents "adds more obstacles to the efforts in reviving the peace process."
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