Israel’s parliament passed a law early Thursday that would allow it to deport family members of Palestinian attackers, including the country’s own citizens, to the war-torn Gaza Strip or other locations.
The law, which was championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and its extreme right-wing allies, passed with a 61-41 vote. However, legal experts said that any attempt to implement the legislation would likely lead to it being struck down by Israeli courts.
The law would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who knew about their family members’ attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.” They would be deported, either to the Gaza Strip or another location, for a period of seven to 20 years.
It was unclear if the law would apply in the occupied West Bank.
Oded Feller from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel dismissed the law as “populist nonsense”, believing it would not be enforced due to legal barriers.
Eran Shamir-Borer from the Israel Democracy Institute argues that the law conflicts with both Israeli constitutional law and international law, and could be seen as discriminatory.
Despite this, the newly appointed Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir welcomed the law, seeing it as a “historic victory” for his party.
Meanwhile, another law was passed allowing children between the ages of 12 and 14 to be sentenced to prison for murder or attempted murder under terrorism laws, which was previously not permitted for this age group.
