On Wednesday, the Israeli parliament approved a new law, allowing the Interior Minister to revoke the permanent residency status of any Palestinian suspected of “breach of loyalty” to Israel.
According to rights groups, the law, approved by the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in a 48 to 18 vote with six abstentions, is illegal.
Israel's parliament has passed a law allowing the Interior Minister to revoke residency rights of any Palestinian in Jerusalem on grounds of “breach of loyalty” — despite the fact that they're denied citizenship. An @hrw report says such actions could constitute war crimes. pic.twitter.com/Zh8DQy4Fla
— AJ+ (@ajplus) March 8, 2018
The new law was formulated following an Israeli Supreme Court decision of September 13, 2017 to accept a petition filed against the revocation of Israeli residency permits of four Palestinian parliamentarians from East Jerusalem.
The court ruled then that there was no law that granted the interior ministry authority to revoke residency status for “breach of loyalty.”
However, the Supreme Court’s decision allowed the interior minister’s revocation of the four parliamentarians’ residency to remain valid for six months despite its illegality, upon which time their residency status would be renewed.
During this six-month period, the Knesset was allowed to change the law – within constitutional constraints – to permit the revocation of residency for “breach of loyalty.”
Urgent Appeal: #Israel Must Suspend and Repeal Recent Legislation Allowing for the Revocation of Permanent Residency Status from #Palestinians in #Jerusalem for ‘Breach of Allegiance’ https://t.co/tGnuQ5vhLX
— Al-Haq الحق (@alhaq_org) March 8, 2018
HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Adalah, and ACRI issued a joint statement in response to the Knesset’s Wednesday approval of the new law:
“This law is unconstitutional and is intended to result in the illegal expulsion of Palestinians from Jerusalem, the city of their birth. East Jerusalem is an occupied territory, and its Palestinian residents are a protected population under the international humanitarian law. It is therefore forbidden to impose upon them an obligation of loyalty to Israel”.
This is the opinion of Adalah, ACRI, and HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, which issued a joint statement in response to the Knesset’s Wednesday approval of the new law.
(Wafa, PC, Social Media)
