(Jerusalem) Israel’s parliament on Wednesday passed a law allowing for the stripping of nationality from “convicted terrorists” if it is proven that they are receiving funds from the Palestinian Authority as rewards for acts that led to to their condemnation.
This new law, which extends the possibilities of stripping someone of their nationality, allows the Israeli government to revoke, for the same reasons, the permanent residence permits granted to Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the eastern part of the Holy City occupied and annexed by Israel.
This law could affect several dozen Israeli Arabs (Palestinians with Israeli nationality) and hundreds of East Jerusalem residents convicted in Israel, according to the Israeli civil rights NGO HaMoked.
This text, adopted by 94 votes against 10 authorizes “the forfeiture of nationality [israélienne] and the revocation of the residence permit of a person convicted of terrorist activities and who receives compensation for his acts of terrorism […] of the Palestinian Authority,” said a statement from the parliament.
Under the existing provisions in the event of deprivation of Israeli nationality, people who would be affected by these measures could be expelled to the territories under the control of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank or to the Gaza Strip, under the control of the Islamist movement. Palestinian Hamas since 2007.
For the deprivation of nationality, a legal procedure is provided for, at the request of the government, while the withdrawal of the residence permit can be decided by ministerial decision.
“Our response to terrorism is to strike it hard,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ntanyahu said on Twitter after the law was passed.