The Israeli parliament passed a highly contested bill into law that would allow for the expulsion of the family members of Israeli terrorists. The law passed 61-41 on Thursday after a filibuster from the opposition that lasted through the previous night.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the law “grants the interior minister authority, following a hearing, to order the deportation of a terrorist’s family member—such as a father, mother, sibling, child, spouse, or common-law partner—to Gaza or another location.”
“This decision to expel the family member would be based on whether they were aware of the planned terrorist act and failed to make necessary efforts to prevent it, including notifying security forces, or publicly supported or identified with the terrorist act or praised, sympathized with, or encouraged terrorism or terrorist organizations,” the outlet noted.
Lawmakers cited studies done by the National Security Council and the IDF which revealed that a primary concern of terrorists who were Israeli citizens or residents was the impact their offenses would have on their families. The Knesset is hopeful this new law will deter potential terrorists therefore.
Israel’s security agency Shin Bet, as well as certain legal advisors to the Knesset, expressed concerns over constitutional fairness and security tensions, with the Shin Bet reportedly suggesting in closed-door meetings the law should be limited to parents of terrorists with dual citizenship. Legal advisors warned the law could be seen by Israel’s Supreme Court as a form of collective punishment and noted that there were already laws in place targeting family members of terrorists who are either complicit in their crimes or know about them and have not reported them.
Additionally, the act of expelling a citizen from their country is viewed as more severe of a punishment than incarceration, per Knesset Legal Advisors, who believe that the High Court of Justice could say it’s a form of collective punishment. Incarceration is what a convicted terrorist in Israel faces. The parliamentary advisors instead suggested that deportation apply to the terrorists themselves rather than their family members, however their recommendations were rejected and the bill was passed into law as it was first proposed.
This Story originally came from humanevents.com