MK Erdan, who drafted the bill
Photo: Amir Cohen
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Government supports revocation of citizenship
Ministerial committee approves bill allowing for revocation of citizenship for those encouraging or participating in terror, visiting enemy nation
The government supports a bill that would enable revocation of citizenship of Israeli citizens involved in terror or who visited enemy nations and encouraged terror against Israel.
The bill, which was approved despite the negative recommendation by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, is anticipated to come to a vote Wednesday in the Knesset plenum.
Nonetheless, the government's future support is conditional that MK Gilad Erdan (Likud), who drafted the bill, rewrite the final draft in conjunction with the Justice Ministry and the attorney general.
Currently, revocation of citizenship is under the jurisdiction of the interior minister, but has not been used other than two instances in 2002: Kais Obeid, a Hizbullah leader in Lebanon, and Nihad Abu Kishak, a Tulkarm resident active in Hamas' military wing.
MK Erdan claimed that the disuse of the revocation clause over the years derived from a lack of support from the Justice Ministry and the Attorney General's office, who claim that Israel must act like other Western nations, who oppose revocation of citizenship.
According to the legislation, jurisdiction over revocation of citizenship will be moved to district courts, which will be able to utilize previously unused resources. For example, the court could receive secret testimonies, in cases where security forces explain why such secrecy is necessary.
As aforementioned, the ministerial committee approved passing the bill to the Knesset.
"The legislation would enable the proportional utilization of this clause, which is necessary for protecting the state from those who seek its destruction," Erdan explained.
"Sadly, terrorists and their supporters use all the freedoms and liberties granted them by a democratic nation in order to hurt that nation and its citizens. A democracy defends itself against seekers of its destruction, and, sadly, some of them come from inside. A person cannot be a citizen in the very nation he is trying to destroy," he stressed.
"When the jurisdiction for revocation of citizenship is in the hands of the courts, the responsibility is also in the hands of the courts, and not in the hands of one political figure," Erdan added.
Attorney General Mazuz, on the other hand, called the legislation "a drastic and extreme move that harms civil liberties." He added that international conventions forbid such punishment, unless such a person has alternate citizenship.
