Israel passes law on deportation of families of terrorists

The Israeli Parliament has passed a law to deport the families of those convicted of terrorism, including Israeli citizens, the Associated Press reports. 61 members of the ruling Likud party and its radical right allies voted for the law, while 41 members of the opposition opposed it.

The document allows for the expulsion from the country of Israeli citizens and residents of East Jerusalem (Israel considers this territory its integral part, the UN and most countries of the world – the territory of the future Palestinian state), who knew in advance about attacks committed by members of their families, or expressed approval of such attacks. Family members identified as terrorists will be deported, including to the Gaza Strip, for a period of seven to 20 years.

Experts believe the Supreme Court could overturn the law. “The bottom line is that it is completely unconstitutional and clearly contrary to Israel’s core values,” said Eran Shamir-Bohrer, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute. Palestinian Arabs make up a fifth of Israel's population. Many of them maintain close ties with the residents of the Palestinian territories and sympathize with the Palestinian cause, writes AP.

Since the beginning of the century, hundreds of terrorist attacks using bladed weapons and firearms have occurred in Israel. Most of these attacks, according to official investigations, were carried out by Palestinians.