Netanyahu seeks to strip Israeli nationality of convicted Palestinians
Israel has asked a court to revoke the citizenship of two men convicted of terrorism offences, in what appears to be the first test of a law allowing the deportation of Palestinian citizens convicted of certain violent crimes.
Court documents filed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday argued that the severity of the crimes, along with payments those found guilty allegedly received from a Palestinian Authority fund, justify revoking citizenship and expelling the individuals convicted of violent attacks.
Roughly one in five Israeli citizens is Palestinian. When the law passed, critics said it was one instance in which Israel's legal system treats Jewish and Palestinian citizens differently. Rights groups argued that basing a deportation law on Palestinian Authority payments effectively limited its application on the basis of race and excluded Jewish Israelis - including settlers convicted of attacks against Palestinians - from the threat of having their citizenship ...