The Israeli Parliament approved a law that allows the expulsion of relatives of “terrorists” for a period of seven to 20 years, if it is proven that they knew of the attacker’s plans and did nothing to stop it, or showed support and support. encouraged acts of violence. The new law will apply to Arabs with Israeli nationality, who make up around 20% of the Israeli population, as well as Palestinians.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, The law was approved Wednesday by 61 votes in favor and 41 against, and establishes that the Israeli Interior Ministry can expel an attacker’s relatives to the Gaza Strip or to another location “determined by the circumstances.” Haaretz points out that the new rule was handled through an expedited procedure and that the Israeli Attorney General’s Office has not issued a legal opinion on the matter.
A legal expert from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Oded Feller, said the law was “populist nonsense,” in statements reported by the AP news agency. Feller noted that the law is unlikely to be enforced, as “there is no legal means by which the Interior Ministry can send an Israeli citizen to another country or to Gaza.” The association doesn’t plan to take the law to court until it’s enforced, but Feller is confident any court would throw it out.
Haaretz specifies that the law can be applied to members of the immediate family of attackers: fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters and spouses. In the case of Israeli citizens, the period of expulsion would be between seven and 15 years; while for those who do not have Israeli citizenship, the period extends between ten and twenty years.
It is unclear whether the law will also apply to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities have for years taken punitive measures against the attackers’ families, evicting them from their homes and demolishing their homes, and subjecting them to more surveillance than any other Palestinian.
