Under a recently enacted law, Israel’s Interior Minister Aryeh Deri has expressed his intentions to strip the residency status of 12 Palestinians in Jerusalem, accusing them of being involved in “terror”.
Four of the 12 are elected Parliamentarians affiliated with the Hamas Movement.
The law, passed two weeks ago, gives the interior minister the power to strip the residency documents of any Palestinian on grounds of a “breach of loyalty” to Israel.
Israel's Interior Ministry is planning to revoke the residency status of 12 Palestinians in Jerusalem https://t.co/mRoAMVhKiD pic.twitter.com/LkdRIZj2M3
— The IMEU (@theIMEU) March 21, 2018
But last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the interior minister does not have the power to do so after a petition was filed by rights groups.
In response, the Israeli government enacted the bill two weeks ago, giving the minister the legal means to strip the residency documents of any Palestinian whom he deems a threat.
Rights groups have blasted the new law as racist and illegal.
Rights Group: #Israeli Law Allowing Revocation of #Palestinian Residency in Jerusalem Illegal https://t.co/WNrFoSXxU7 via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/ivboymeapW
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) March 12, 2018
“East Jerusalem is considered occupied territory under international humanitarian law (IHL) – like all other areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip – and its Palestinian residents are a protected civilian population,” Adalah, a Palestinian rights group in Israel, said.
"Interior Minister Arye Dery is weighing up the move, in light of the law passed two weeks ago, which grants him the authority to strip any permanent resident of his residency rights, for ‘terrorism’ or ‘disloyalty’ to the State of Israel." https://t.co/Q5MJ3MKGrv
— Ben White (@benabyad) March 20, 2018
Palestinians in the city are given “permanent residency” ID cards and temporary Jordanian passports that are only used for travel purposes. They are essentially stateless, stuck in legal limbo – they are not citizens of Israel, nor are they citizens of Jordan or Palestine.
The new bill will only worsen the difficult conditions for the 420,000 Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem, who are treated as foreign immigrants by the state.
Under international law, it is illegal to impose on Palestinians “an obligation of loyalty to the occupying power, let alone to deny them permanent residency status on this basis” #Adalahhttps://t.co/pmm5t9sJIZ
— Damanda C_Palestine ❄ (@amanda_damanda) March 18, 2018
Since 1967, Israel has revoked the status of at least 14,000 Palestinians.
Deri, the interior minister, who was, in the past, convicted of bribery, fraud and “breach of trust”, says this law would allow him to protect the “security of Israeli citizens”.
(Al Jazeera, PC, Social Media)
