The Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction slams a just-passed law to “strip convicted terrorists of their citizenship or residency if they were paid by the Palestinian Authority.” The payment clause is widely understood to have tailored the bill to apply only to Arab-Palestinian terrorists and to exclude Jewish terrorists from scrutiny.

MK Aida Touma-Sliman against “the anti-democratic and racist law” (Screenshot: Knesset Channel)

Hadash-Ta’al says that the law is anti-democratic because it leads to a “deepening of the occupation, one law for the Jews, and another law for the Palestinians. There is no democracy with occupation, it is the opposite.” The regulation approved last week by 94 votes in favor and 10 against.

“It is shameful that we are the only faction to reject and speak out against this despicable rule,” tweeted lawmaker Ayman Odeh, leader of the Hadash front. “Today it is the denial of citizenship to the Palestinians, but tomorrow it can be used against demonstrators,” Odeh warned, in allusion to the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have been protesting for weeks against the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Lawmaker and Hadash member, Aida Touma-Sliman, made a similar statement, “The shameful vote in favor of an anti-democratic and racist law is a disgrace for the Knesset and especially for those who claim to fight for democracy.” “Those who supported the bill are fighting for the preservation of privileged Jewish rights, the continuation of inequality and discrimination,” she stressed. In turn, former parliamentarian Mossi Raz (Meretz) predicted that this measure will increase violence.

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=30834