Netanyahu signs a decision to revoke the Israeli citizenship of Palestinians and deports them to Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that he had signed an order to deport and revoke the citizenship of two Palestinians with Israeli citizenship from East Jerusalem, after they were convicted of carrying out attacks against Israelis.

The measure is first taken under a law passed in 2023 that allows for the revocation of Israeli citizenship or the revocation of residency permits for those convicted of carrying out attacks against Israelis and whose families received financial assistance from the Palestinian Authority after their arrest.

Netanyahu said he had signed a decision to revoke citizenship and deport Israeli terrorists who carried out knife and firearm attacks against Israeli civilians, and the Palestinian Authority rewarded them for their criminal acts.

Netanyahu, who heads one of the most extreme right-wing governments in Israel’s history, didn’t reveal the names of the Palestinians, but several Israeli media outlets reported that they were Mohammed Hammad al Salhi and Mohammed Halaseh, both from East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, which monitors the conditions of detainees in Israeli prisons, said that both Palestinians, as Salhi was a freed prisoner who was released in 2024 from prison, after 23 years of detention, and holds Israeli citizenship.

The other, Mohammed Halaseh holds an Israeli identity card, a document granted by the Israeli authorities to Palestinians residing in East Jerusalem, which is a residence permit and not an Israeli citizenship.

He had had been sentenced to 18 years in prison as a minor and had served about half of his sentence.

Several Israeli media reported that the expulsion sentence for Salehi will be carried out soon, while the sentence against Halaseh won’t be carried out until after the end of his prison term.

The law notes the exile of Palestinians who carry out attacks on Israelis to the West Bank or Gaza Strip.