Israel seeks to revoke citizenship of men convicted of aiding Hamas

The State Attorney’s Office requests the Central District Court revoke the citizenship of two Arab Israeli men convicted of aiding Hamas while working for the Cellcom telecommunications company, citing a law passed after their arrest.

Rani Ouf and Shadi Eidi, the two men in question, were found guilty in 2024 of conspiracy and passing information to the enemy after handing sensitive information on the Israeli cellular giant over to Hamas in a bid to sabotage communications in a future war.

They were apprehended and charged in 2022, after years of contact with Hamas agents and sustained attempts to paralyze Cellcom’s networks during wartime, according to prosecutors.

Ouf was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the plot, while Eidi was sentenced to five and a half years.

The State Attorney’s Office says that the revocation of the pair’s citizenship is justified under a 2023 amendment to the Citizenship Law, which allows for the step to be taken against those found guilty of aiding the enemy during wartime, among other security offenses.

The offenses amount to “effective treason,” says the office, arguing the two men were convicted in “an extreme and exceptional case of violating the duty of loyalty owed by citizens to the state.”

The request was filed at the behest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was approved by Attorney General Gali-Baharav Miara, the office notes.