In first, Israel to revoke citizenship of 2 Israeli terror convicts and deport them

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday morning signed the revocation of citizenship and deportation orders for two Israeli terrorists who carried out stabbing and shooting attacks against Israeli civilians, his office announced, with their destination reported to be the Gaza Strip.

The move marks the first implementation of a February 2023 law allowing the revocation of citizenship from convicted terrorists and their deportation. Defense Minister Israel Katz and Coalition Whip Ofir Katz, who initiated the law, announced last year that Israel was set to implement the law for terrorists who are receiving payments from the Palestinian Authority. Proceedings have been initiated against hundreds of citizens.

In a statement announcing the move, Netanyahu said the two terrorists “were rewarded for their criminal acts by the Palestinian Authority,” and thanked MK Katz for spearheading the legislation “that will expel them from Israel — and many more like them are on the way.”

The two terrorists are identified as Mahmoud Ahmad — sentenced to 23 years in prison for shooting attacks against soldiers and civilians — and Mohammed Ahmad Hussein al-Halsi — sentenced in 2016 to 18 years for stabbing elderly women in Armon HaNatziv, in a statement from MK Katz cited by the Ynet news site. Ahmad was released in 2024 and will be deported immediately, while al-Hals will be deported upon his release, the report added.

The Walla news site reported that the two terrorists will be deported to the Gaza Strip. The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately confirm the deportation destination.

“After dozens of discussions I held over supervision and review for implementing the law, it is finally happening,” Katz said in a video statement. “This is how you fight terror.”

In response to Netanyahu’s announcement, Adalah, a legal aid organization representing Arab Israelis, condemned the decision.

“These deportation orders allow Palestinian citizens of Israel to be physically exiled from their homeland,” the group said. “The government has transformed the most fundamental human right into a conditional permit that can be revoked at will. This unprecedented move violates the absolute international prohibition against statelessness and destroys the most foundational basic protection of citizenship.”

The law, an amendment to Israel’s 1952 Citizenship Law, applies to both Israeli citizens and permanent residents incarcerated following a conviction for terror, aiding terror, harming Israeli sovereignty, inciting war, or aiding an enemy during wartime, and enables the interior minister to revoke their status after a hearing.

The law enables citizenship to be revoked even if the person lacks a second citizenship, provided they have a permanent residence status outside of Israel. Once citizenship is revoked, the person would be denied entry back into Israel.

The requirement to receive PA-linked money makes the law inapplicable to Jewish terrorists. Arab lawmakers who opposed the bill at the time labeled the law’s tailoring to carve out Jewish terrorists as “racist.”

It also faced a warning from a Justice Ministry adviser, who counseled lawmakers against provisions that let them strip citizenship from terrorists on the basis of their holding permanent residency in the PA, even if the PA denies the connection.

Citizenship and residency can be revoked at the request of the interior minister, who has to consult with an advisory committee and obtain the approval of the justice minister before making his recommendation to the courts.