Law for Revocation of Citizenship or Residency of a Terrorist who Receives Compensation for Carrying out a Terrorist Act

The law introduces two similar amendments to the Entry Into Israel Law 5712-1952 and the Citizenship Law 5712-1952. These authorize the revocation of permanent Israeli residency or citizenship status for an individual who meets the following cumulative conditions: having been convicted of an offense that constitutes an "act of terrorism" as defined by the Counter-Terrorism Law (2016) or other offenses as defined in articles 97-99 of Israel's Penal Law, having been sentenced to prison, and, according to the Interior Minister, having received monetary benefits from the Palestinian Authority in relation to "a breach of loyalty to the State of Israel." If an individual’s citizenship or residency is revoked under the law, they will be expelled to the territory of the Palestinian Authority (parts of the occupied West Bank) or to the Gaza Strip.

The law further amends the existing track of revocation of Israeli citizenship based on “breach of loyalty”, to allow for the expulsion of individuals whose citizenship has been revoked to the occupied West Bank or Gaza.

The law further expands Israel’s longstanding policy of maintaining two separate legal tracks for citizenship based on racial identity, as this legislation is designed to be used exclusively against Palestinians and relies on overly-broad and abstract definitions stipulated in the Counter-Terrorism Law that are selectively enforced against them. The law severely violates the most fundamental of rights - citizenship rights - which are the basis for other constitutional rights, including the right to human dignity and liberty, as well as the ability to have and maintain a family life.

Main provisions:

Amendment to the the Citizenship Law:

After subarticle (b), the following shall be added:

(b1)

(1)  If all of these [following circumstances] apply to a person, the Interior Minister shall inform them, within seven working days, of his intention to request that the court revoke his Israeli citizenship:

(a)  [That person] was convicted of an offense and the court that convicted him determined that the offense is an act of terror, and if the offense was committed prior to the entry into force of the [2016] Counter-Terrorism Law - it is a terrorist act based on the facts determined in the court’s verdict in the matter, or he was convicted of an offense under sections 97 to 99 of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, and if he was sentenced to actual imprisonment;

(b)  It has been proven, to the satisfaction of the Interior Minister, after giving that person an opportunity to present his arguments within seven working days, that he or someone acting on his behalf, and with his knowledge, received money in connection with terrorism.

(2)  The court, at the request of the Interior Minister as stated in paragraph (1), shall revoke the citizenship unless it is convinced, due to special circumstances that shall be detailed, that the revocation of the citizenship is not justified under the circumstances; the court shall decide on the request within 30 days of the date on which it was submitted.

(3)  The court revoked the citizenship of a person as stated in this subarticle [paragraph (b1)], and the presumption cited in subarticle (b)(2) was not refuted, the person shall be deported from Israel at the end of their sentence, in accordance with section 13 of the Entry into Israel Law, to the territories of the Palestinian Authority, and will no longer be allowed to enter Israel.

(4)  The provisions of subarticle (b)(2) shall apply to the revocation of the citizenship of those who, as a result of the revocation, are left without any citizenship.

Amendment to the Entry into Israel Law:

After subarticle (b), the following shall be added:

“(a1)

1.    Notwithstanding the provisions of subarticle (a), if all of the [following conditions] apply to a person, the Interior Minister shall inform them, within seven working days, of his intention to revoke their permit, and shall give him an opportunity to present his arguments within seven working days:

a.    [That person] was convicted of an offense and the court that convicted him and determined that the offense is an act of terror, and if the offense was committed prior to the entry into force of the [2016] Counter-Terrorism Law - it is a terrorist act based on the facts determined in the court's verdict in the matter, or he was convicted of an offense under articles 97 to 99 of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, and if he was sentenced to actual imprisonment;

b.    It has been proven, to the satisfaction of the Interior Minister, after giving that person an opportunity to present his arguments within seven working days, that he or someone acting on his behalf, and with his knowledge, received money for breach of loyalty to the State of Israel (hereinafter - money in connection with terrorism).

2.    For the purpose of this article, if the Justice Minister has not provided his approval as stated in article 1 within seven working days, it shall be deemed as if he has given his consent.

3.    Should the Interior Minister revoke a person’s permit, as stated in this article, and the presumption stated in subarticle (b) is not refuted, the person shall be deported from Israel at the end of their sentence, in accordance with 13 of the Entry into Israel Law, to the territories of the Palestinian Authority, and will no longer be allowed to enter Israel.”

Context:

The law, passed by a far-right extremist government in February 2023, was passed with the clear intent to target and harm Palestinians. During Knesset discussions concerning the bill, for instance, MK Hanoch Milwidsky stated, “I prefer Jewish murderers to Arab murderers, and as a general rule in the Jewish state I prefer [having] Jews to disloyal Arabs here.”^[5] During the same discussion, Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, who was among the drafters of the law, stated the view that citizenship should be revoked “for any terrorist who kills a Jew on the grounds that he is a Jew,” adding that the appropriate punishment for such a crime should be death.

Why is it discriminatory?

The bill ostensibly applies to individuals convicted of offenses that a court has determined constituted an “act of terror” – in accordance with the definition in Israel’s 2016 Counter-Terrorism Law – and sentenced to imprisonment (read more: Adalah’s Position Paper: Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Law). The term “act of terror” is ambiguous and overly broad, and includes a wide range of offenses such as “harm to property”, “harm to religious objects”, or even mere threats to commit such harm, when they are committed with “nationalistic or ideological motives”.^[4] Other offenses listed in the law include the “impairment of sovereignty or integrity of the State” and “assistance to an enemy in war” (see Articles 97-99 of Israel’s Penal Law).

It has been clear since the passage of the Counter-Terrorism Law that it is designed to be selectively enforced against Palestinians. This has been the case since 2016. For example, official data from the State Prosecutor's Office regarding the May 2021 Uprising confirms that the proportion of Palestinian defendants accused of committing an "act of terror" was significantly higher than that of Jewish Israeli defendants in comparable circumstances.

Furthermore, by revoking individuals’ citizenship or permanent residency, the law severely violates the most fundamental of rights - citizenship rights - which are the basis for other constitutional rights, including the right to human dignity and liberty, as well as the ability to have and maintain a family life. In addition, the punitive purpose of the law – which adds a second, additional punishment for criminal convictions, in addition to a prison sentence – is also a violation of the basic tenets of criminal law.

The practice of revoking citizenship as a means of targeting Palestinians has already been clearly established in the 2008 amendment to Israel’s Citizenship Law (Article 11(b)(2)), which authorized the Interior Minister to revoke an individual's citizenship based on an alleged “breach of loyalty” to the State of Israel. Despite contravening international law and leaving open the possibility that individuals would be rendered stateless, the Israeli Supreme Court upheld this practice as constitutional in the Zayoud case (July 2021). As part of the proceedings in Zayoud, the Interior Ministry provided data to the Supreme Court showing that, of the 31 instances in which the state considered revoking an individual’s citizenship, not a single case involved a Jewish citizen (read more: Q&A: Israeli Supreme Court allows government to strip citizenship for ‘breach of loyalty’). This new law now expands this existing track of revocation of citizenship, further entrenching separate – and unequal – citizenship rights for Palestinians.