Israeli Knesset passes bill to strip some Palestinian detainees of citizenship

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel’s Knesset, or parliament, approved a bill Wednesday to revoke the citizenship of Palestinian detainees who received financial aid from the Palestinian Authority.

The bill was passed with 94 votes in favor and 10 against in the 120-seat Knesset, according to its website.

“The bill proposes to stipulate that if an Israeli citizen or resident has been convicted of an offense that constitutes a breach of trust to the State of Israel, has been sentenced to prison time for that offense, and it has been proven that the Palestinian Authority is compensating him for this, it will be possible to revoke his citizenship or his permanent residency license, as the case may be, and to relocate him to the Palestinian Authority territories or the Gaza Strip,” the Knesset said in a statement.

“A permanent residency license will be revoked by the Minister of Interior after consultation with an advisory committee and with the consent of the Minister of Justice,” it added.

“Revocation of citizenship will be done by the court…after consultation with an advisory committee and with the consent of the Minister of Justice.”

Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel condemned the Israeli bill.

“This law not only creates an additional avenue for the revocation of the citizenship or residency of Palestinians, which further undermines the precarious status of Palestinians under the Israeli regime, but also facilitates their expulsion, all in violation of international law,” it said in a statement.

“The bill seeks to further expand Israel’s longstanding policy of establishing two separate legal tracks based on racial identity, as the state designed this measure to be used exclusively against Palestinians,” it added.

Arab citizens of Israel hold Israeli citizenship, while Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have permanent resident status under Israeli law.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report