France Expels Palestinian Activist

Palestinian activist Mariam Abu Daqqa, 72, has been expelled by France 
Christophe SIMON - AFP
Palestinian activist Mariam Abu Daqqa, 72, has been expelled by France Christophe SIMON - AFP
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France Expels Palestinian Activist

Palestinian activist Mariam Abu Daqqa, 72, has been expelled by France 
Christophe SIMON - AFP
Palestinian activist Mariam Abu Daqqa, 72, has been expelled by France Christophe SIMON - AFP

France on Friday expelled a Palestinian activist to Egypt after a protracted court battle over her presence, police said.

Mariam Abu Daqqa, 72, is a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) which is considered a "terrorist" organization by the European Union.

Abu Daqqa was detained by police on Wednesday night after the State Council, France's highest administrative court, overturned a lower court ruling that had suspended an interior ministry expulsion order.

Abu Daqqa had a 50 day visa to visit France to take part in conferences on the Middle East conflict. The ministry said that her presence was a risk after the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.

She took part in two conferences that had been banned while in France.

Reached by phone at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport as she awaited a flight to Cairo, Abu Daqqa slammed her expulsion as "an attack against the right of Palestine to have a state, an identity, an existence".

"The process that I have undergone is not worthy of a democratic government," she said.

Her lawyers, Elsa Marcel and Marie David, told AFP they would launch further appeals and even take the case to the European Court of Human rights.

France, which has large Jewish and Muslim populations, has seen a spike in tensions amid the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.



Philippines and China Reach a Deal to Avoid Clashes at Fiercely Disputed South China Sea Shoal

(FILES) This file photo taken on August 22, 2023 shows Chinese coast guard ships (L and R) corralling a Philippine civilian boat chartered by the Philippine navy to deliver supplies to the Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre, in disputed waters of the South China Sea. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)
(FILES) This file photo taken on August 22, 2023 shows Chinese coast guard ships (L and R) corralling a Philippine civilian boat chartered by the Philippine navy to deliver supplies to the Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre, in disputed waters of the South China Sea. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)
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Philippines and China Reach a Deal to Avoid Clashes at Fiercely Disputed South China Sea Shoal

(FILES) This file photo taken on August 22, 2023 shows Chinese coast guard ships (L and R) corralling a Philippine civilian boat chartered by the Philippine navy to deliver supplies to the Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre, in disputed waters of the South China Sea. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)
(FILES) This file photo taken on August 22, 2023 shows Chinese coast guard ships (L and R) corralling a Philippine civilian boat chartered by the Philippine navy to deliver supplies to the Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre, in disputed waters of the South China Sea. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)

Two Philippine officials said Sunday that Manila and Beijing have reached a deal to avoid confrontations at a fiercely disputed shoal in the South China Sea, where recent clashes have sparked fears of larger conflicts that could involve the United States.
The deal was forged after a series of closed-door meetings between Philippine and Chinese diplomats in Manila and exchanges of diplomatic notes that aimed to establish a mutually acceptable arrangement at the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal, which China also claims.
The Philippine officials who confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on Sunday spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a public announcement of the pact.
Chinese coast guard and other forces have used powerful water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers to prevent food and other supplies from reaching Filipino navy personnel at Manila’s outpost at the shoal.