The Knesset House Committee on Tuesday passed a bill to expel from Israel family members of terrorists if they “knew ahead of time about [the terrorist’s] plan to commit an act of terrorism, expressed support or identified with the act of terrorism, or published praise, sympathy, or encouraged an act of terrorism.” If approved by the Knesset next week, it could become law.
The bill would give authority to the interior minister, after holding an arraignment, to expel the family member “to the territory of the Gaza Strip, or a different expulsion destination, depending on the circumstances.”
The expulsion would apply for seven to 15 years for an Israeli citizen and 10 to 20 years for a noncitizen.
According to the bill, the Israel Police has “all of the authorities given to it by law, including the authority to enter any place, remove from it any person, and use reasonable force to do so.”
The bill is an amalgamation of four separate bills proposed by MKs from the Likud, Yisrael Beytenu, and Otzma Yehudit. Its proponents say it would deter potential terrorists from acting out of fear of repercussions to their families.
Shin Bet and IDF have reservations
Legal advisers in the government and the Knesset, however, have said there would be serious constitutional difficulties due to the claim that expulsion is a form of collective punishment.
After passing its preliminary reading in February, the bill was significantly amended to solve the legal issues. After the amended version passed its first reading, Knesset House Committee chairman Ofir Katz (Likud) on October 8 said the wording would revert to its original version due to “disagreements” with Justice Ministry officials over the final version.
Before the vote on Tuesday, the House Committee held a classified session in which security officials presented their positions regarding the bill. According to several reports, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the IDF expressed reservations over the bill, saying it could incite unrest and incitement and lead to more terrorist attacks. These reports could not be corroborated.
The debate before the vote was heated, as MKs who supported the bill accused MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash-Ta’al), who opposed the bill, of being a “terrorism supporter.” At one point, Knesset ushers had to physically stand between Cassif and MK Almog Cohen (Otzma Yehudit).
In another exchange, a Justice Ministry representative said the ministry could not present its opinion until the bill was discussed by the security cabinet. In response, Katz said the legal officials were “tying our hands in the fight against terrorism.”
According to Cohen, the bill could pass into law by next Monday, November 4.