A seven-member panel of High Court justices was slated to discuss on Tuesday two petitions addressing the citizenship and or residency status of two Israeli Arab terrorists involved in two terrorist attacks.
The first petition was filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel on behalf of Alaa Ziad, whose citizenship former Interior Minister Silvan Shalom revoked. Ziad, an Israeli citizen and resident of Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel, was convicted of perpetrating a combined car ramming and stabbing attack at the Gan Shmuel intersection in October 2015 that left four Israelis wounded. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
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When Shalom announced that he would take steps to ensure that Ziad's citizenship was revoked, he said, "There is no need to speak at length about the importance of Israeli citizenship, which entails an obligation of loyalty between the citizen and his country and between the state and its citizens. Even more, when citizenship is put to evil use, to harm civilians or national security."
In May 2016, Shalom's successor in the Interior Ministry, Aryeh Deri, continued to handle the matter and announced that he had requested the Haifa District Court to begin the process of revoking Ziad's citizenship. Deri also stated that Ziad's father, who holds Israeli residency but not citizenship, would not have his residency status renewed.
As the case continued, Deri informed the court that Ziad would be granted temporary residency status, which would make him eligible for government benefits, including social security payments to his family due to his inability to support them while in prison.
Deri also presented the court with an opinion from the Shin Bet security agency dating from January 2017, according to which Ziad belongs to a group of Arab Israeli citizens who are the sons or daughters of at least one parent from the West Bank. The Shin Bet argued that members of that group, which it called "Generation B," have a "split identity," and deterrent steps against them were justified.
In August 2017, the Haifa District Court approved the request to revoke Ziad's citizenship.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Adalah appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court was also due to discuss another petition against a ruling by the Lod District Court to revoke the residency rights of convicted terrorist Mahmoud Mafarja, an Israeli citizen.
Mafarja received permanent residency status in 1995. In 2008, when he was still a minor, he adopted Israeli citizenship. Four years later, he planted a bomb on a bus in Tel Aviv. It exploded, wounding 24 people, two seriously. Mafarja was convicted of intent of aiding the enemy, attempted murder, and causing serious bodily harm and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Silvan Shalom sought to revoke Mafarja's citizenship, and the attorney general assented. A special advisory committee recommended the step, and the Shin Bet supported it, arguing that doing so would deter future terrorists. However, the Lod District Court decided not to revoke his citizenship on the grounds that the terrorist attack he committed was "not unusual or radical."
In June 2018 a court ruled against the request.
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