Following the release of IDF soldier Moshe Tamam's killer, a bill has been signed on Wednesday by 42 Knesset members to strip citizenship from Israeli residents or citizens who have served in prison for an act of terrorism and have received monetary support from the Palestinian Authority, The Jerusalem Post's sister newspaper Maariv reported.
Tamam was killed in 1984 after being abducted and tortured by a terrorist cell consisting of four Arab-Israelis. Rushi Hamdan Abu Mukh, one of the members of the terror cell responsible for his murder was released on April 5, after serving 35 years in prison.
Abu Mukh is among one of the highest-paid terrorists in the PA's pay-for-slay program. In 2019, Palestinian Media Watch reported that he had been paid more than NIS 1,561,500. The sum has presumably grown since then.
To discourage the pay-for-slay system, this bill will take away citizenship from terrorist prisoners whom the PA has rewarded monetarily, and they can only re-apply for citizenship if they return payments from the PA.
"We hope that the approval of the law will prevent victory marches throughout the State of Israel, and will prevent encouragement for murderous terrorists while our loved ones are in the grave" Merav and Herzl Hajaj from the "Choosing of Life" forum said in response to the proposal.
"I am happy that the bill will do justice to the bereaved families and bring an end to the celebrations of the families of the murderers," Tamam's sister, Ortal, said expressing her support.
To date, stripping citizenship can only be done through a court decision, where the interior minister who files the request must first receive the approval of the Shin Bet and the government's legal advisor.
In reality, this drawn-out bureaucratic process rarely sees requests approved. In the new bill, however, the responsibility will rest with the interior minister and the negation of citizenship will be contingent upon receipt of payments from the PA.Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.