Israels Discriminatory Laws Stripped Palestinians of Citizenship Rights

Israeli Government Revokes Citizenship of Two Palestinian Citizens

The Israeli government has announced plans to revoke the citizenship of two Palestinian citizens accused of carrying out attacks on Israeli civilians. The decision has been met with criticism from Palestinians, who claim it sets a “grave and alarming precedent” that could lead to the targeting of thousands of detainees and former prisoners.

According to reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an order revoking the citizenship of the two individuals, who will be deported from Israel. This is the first time a 2023 discriminatory law has been used to physically deport Palestinians from Israel.

The law in question was passed by the Israeli parliament in February 2023 and allows authorities to strip citizenship or residency from Palestinians jailed for what Israel defines as “acts of terror”. The law targets Palestinian citizens of Israel, as well as Palestinians in the occupied and illegally annexed East Jerusalem who hold Israeli residency.

A joint statement released by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) condemned the decision, stating that it is based on a discriminatory law. Hassan Jabareen, general director of Adalah, described the law as “a very, very dangerous law” that will make it difficult for Palestinian citizens to avoid being targeted.

The revocation of citizenship has been linked to the upcoming October legislative elections in Israel. Netanyahu stated that this decision is just the beginning and that more citizenships will be revoked in the future. The Israeli government has also been accused of using this move to stoke tension between Palestinian citizens and the state ahead of the elections.

It is worth noting that there are currently around 100 Israeli laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens in Israel and Palestinian residents of the occupied Palestinian territory, according to Adalah.

Source: Al Jazeera