The Israeli parliament enacted legislation authorizing the government to deport family members of anyone convicted of terrorism offenses, including Israeli citizens.
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The contentious legislation, presented by a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, applies to first-degree relatives, which include the parents, siblings, or children of anyone found guilty of conducting or aiding terrorism.
Israeli human rights organizations argue that the law is unlawful.
Some opposition members of Israel’s Knesset, or parliament, have alleged that it is only aimed at Palestinian Israelis, sometimes known as Israeli Arabs.
Family members of someone who had advance knowledge but either neglected to notify the authorities or “expressed support or identification with an act of terrorism” may be deported under the statute.
Deportation was also an option for relatives of individuals who published “praise, sympathy, or encouragement for an act of terrorism or a terrorist organization.”
The interior minister would order the deportation of relatives. According to the Times of Israel website, during the bill’s debate, several Knesset members made the suggestion that it would not be applied to Jewish Israeli citizens.
“Yigal Amir’s family will not be deported anywhere,” said opposition member of parliament Merav Michaeli, referring to former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin, a Jewish extremist.
Mickey Levy asked “whether you will deport Ben Gvir’s family,” a reference to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s conviction in his youth for incitement to violence and supporting a terror group.
Since October 7 of last year, other Israeli Arabs have also been found guilty of expressing sympathy or support for Hamas on social media.
Concerns have been expressed by the attorney general’s office and the justice ministry regarding the implementation of the law, which is probably going to be contested in court.