A parliamentary committee voted Monday to expedite legislation to revoke the citizenship of Israeli nationals convicted of terrorism.
The Knesset Committee decided to shorten the waiting time before the bill can be tabled for a final vote, scraping the need to go through other committees. It is expected to come up for a vote in two weeks.
The current Israeli law allows to revoke citizenship from those convicted of terror, but replaces it with the right to reside in the country. The new law would see that right removed as well.
The expedited process was supported by members of the coalition and some in the opposition with a 10-2 majority, with lawmakers claiming that recently released Karim Younis, who murdered an IDF soldier in 1980, should be subject to the new law.
“The bare minimum we can do as a moral country is to revoke their citizenship and residency," said Religious Zionism legislator Simcha Rothman, who assisted in the drafting the bill. "The Palestinian Authority is trying to recruit terrorists from among Israeli citizens because it is easier for them to carry out terror attacks."
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Longest serving Palestinian prisoner, Karim Younis after his release from jail
( Photo: Reuters)
Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi and United Arab List's Walid al-Huashla, who oppose the proposed law, said it "only addresses Arab terror convicts and not Jews."
"I suggest you add, for example, revoking citizenship from the prime minister's murderer," Tibi said, referring to right-wing extremist Yigal Amir, who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.
"Has anyone in the Knesset considered revoking the murderer’s citizenship? Has anyone considered denying citizenship of Ami Popper who murdered and massacred seven Palestinian workers in 1990? You have the right to commit the worst crimes when you are Jewish," Tibi said.