Netanyahu seeks to strip Israeli nationality from Palestinian citizens convicted of violent crimes

Israel asked a court on Thursday to revoke the citizenship of two men convicted of terrorism offenses, in what appears to be the first test of a law that allows the deportation of Palestinian citizens convicted of certain violent crimes. The court documents submitted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday argue that the severity of the crimes, along with the payments the culprits allegedly received from a fund of the Palestinian Authority, justify the revocation of citizenship and the expulsion of individuals convicted of violent attacks. Approximately one in five Israeli citizens is Palestinian. When the law was passed, critics claimed it was an example of how the Israeli legal system treats Jewish and Palestinian citizens differently. Human rights groups argued that basing a deportation law on payments from the Palestinian Authority limited its application on racial grounds and excluded Jewish Israelis — including settlers convicted of attacks against Palestinians — from the threat of revocation of their citizenship.

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Netanyahu has long argued that the fund in question rewards violence, including attacks against civilians. However, the Palestinian authorities have defended it as a safety net for the broad representation of society with family members detained in Israel. They have dismissed Netanyahu’s focus on the relatively small proportion of beneficiaries involved in such attacks. Related stories

The citizenship revocation law faces its first test

In a statement this week, Netanyahu stated that proceedings were initiated against two men and that more similar cases are being processed. One of the court documents consulted by The Associated Press details the request against Mohamad Hamad, who, according to the state’s request, was convicted of “crimes constituting an act of terrorism and for receiving funds in connection with terrorism”. It is alleged that Hamad, a 48-year-old citizen of East Jerusalem, received a payment after being sentenced in 2002 on charges including shootings and arms trafficking. He served more than two decades in prison before being released. The 2023 law applies to citizens or permanent residents convicted of “committing an act that constitutes a violation of allegiance to the State of Israel,” including terrorism. Hassan Jabareen, general director of the Israeli legal center Adalah, described the measures taken this week to apply it as “a cynical propaganda maneuver” by Netanyahu. He asserted that revoking citizenship violates the most basic principles of the rule of law, even when acting against people who served prison sentences. “The Israeli government is trying to strip individuals of the very basis by which all rights are protected: their nationality,” he said on Thursday.

If the court proceeds, Israel would become one of the few countries, including Bahrain, to revoke citizenship from people born with such a condition in their country. Countries like the United Kingdom and France have stripped citizenship from dual nationals or naturalized citizens for terrorism convictions, but international conventions generally prohibit states from withdrawing nationality from someone if this makes them stateless.

Israel argues that payments from the Palestinian Authority create a sufficient link to justify the revocation of citizenship and the deportation of those citizens to the West Bank or Gaza.