The Israeli parliament (Knesset) passed on Monday the first reading of a bill aimed at revoking the citizenship or permanent residency of Palestinians who committed acts of resistance, the official news agency WAFA reported.

According to WAFA, the bill passed with 89 votes, with extensive support from both the coalition and opposition. Three readings are required for the bill to become law.

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The bill prescribes that the Israeli Interior Minister is authorized to revoke the permanent residency of a person who has been convicted of committing an act of ‘terrorism’ and has been sentenced to prison if it is proved that he has received payment from the Palestinian Authority for committing the act.

The bill further states that a person whose citizenship or permanent residency has been revoked will be deported to the Palestinian Authority territories at the end of his prison sentence.

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Reacting to this bill, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, said the bill seeks to further expand Israel’s longstanding policy of creating two separate legal tracks for citizenship based on racial identity, as this measure is designed to be used exclusively against Palestinians.

(PC, WAFA)