It is hard to understand the logic behind the interior minister's decision to expel Palestinian parliamentarians belonging to Hamas who live in East Jerusalem, unless they resign from their positions in the Palestinian Authority within 30 days. The decision, which was made back in the days of the transition government headed by Ehud Olmert, brings back forgotten memories of Olmert in his previous incarnation as mayor of Jerusalem. In those days, before the 'big bang' in Likud, orders were issued for the demolition of houses in East Jerusalem and the door was opened wide to Jewish organizations that build in Arab neighborhoods. All this was working toward goal of undermining the Oslo Accords and the Clinton plan, which proposed leaving the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem to the Arabs and the Jewish neighborhoods to the Jews. Olmert also shut down Orient House at a time when Fatah, not Hamas, controlled the PA.
The Kadima Party was established to advance the opposite agenda primarily, separation from the Palestinians, along with a desire to establish an independent Palestinian state. The Sharon government allowed both East Jerusalem residents and Hamas to run in the PA elections; it also allowed East Jerusalem residents to vote in the elections, as called for by the Oslo Accords.
There were those who thought that Hamas should not be allowed to run in the elections, because it is a terrorist organization. But in the end, this position was not adopted. Those who approved Hamas' participation could have foreseen that a Hamas candidate from East Jerusalem might be elected. The four candidates for expulsion (three of whom are PA ministers) acted in accordance with the rules laid down by Israel and the international community, which supervised the elections. They are not accused of personal involvement in terror. They did not hide their affiliation with Hamas, which was a legitimate party in these elections. Thousands of East Jerusalem residents voted for them and view them as their elected representatives. It is possible to argue that 'democratic elections' in which a terrorist organization participates are by definition not democratic, but such an argument cannot be raised after the fact.
Jerusalem is ostensibly united, and many songs are sung to it. But in practice, East Jerusalem remains a foreign body comprised of permanent residents people who were annexed to Israel, but who, to the satisfaction of both sides, were never made citizens. The state has always wanted the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, but not their 230,000 residents. The fence that is being built through the city annexes a large portion of these unwanted residents in a manner that contravenes both their natural political affiliation and Israel's demographic interests. The only reason that could possibly be advanced for continuing the current situation is that separating from East Jerusalem's real estate is too painful.
Israel is having trouble formulating a logical and consistent stance with regard to East Jerusalem, and therefore it has been taking inconsistent and hypocritical steps. The decision to allow East Jerusalem residents to participate in the PA elections is part of this same duality. East Jerusalem's residents live here, vote for the PA and are citizens of Jordan. Instead of removing Palestinian parliamentarians from the eastern part of the city, it would be better to remove East Jerusalem from the State of Israel and transfer it to the Palestinian Authority.