During a discussion regarding the expulsion of “terrorists’ families” from Israel, Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi told minister Itamar Ben Gvir, “You are an embarrassment, you are a failed National Security Minister. You are a terrorist.” Knesset House Committee on Tuesday, October 15, debated a bill proposal to expel from the country family members of terrorists if the family “knew ahead of time about his plan to commit an act of terror, expressed support or identified with the act of terror, or published praise, sympathy, or encouraged an act of terror.”

During the debate Ben Gvir and Tibi trade insults in the Knesset House Committee and MK Almog Cohen, a member of Ben Gvir’s racist Otzma Yehudit party said, “There are no Jewish terrorists.”

MK Ahmad Tibi against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during the House Committee meeting at the Knesset. October 15, 2024 (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

According to the proposal, the interior minister will be granted the authority, following a hearing, to order the deportation “outside of Israel or the territories it controls,” of a relative of a terrorist. If approved by the committee, the bill will go to the Knesset plenum for the second and third readings necessary to become law.

After passing its preliminary reading in February, the bill was significantly amended to solve significant legal problems. However, after the amended version passed its first reading, Knesset Home Committee chairman Ofir Katz (Likud) announced on October 8 that the wording would return to its original wording due to “disagreements” with Ministry of Justice officials over the final version.

Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik said that the bill had constitutional and practical problems. From a constitutional standpoint, the bill imposed severe penalties on family members without a trial, which is more severe than the punishment meted out to the perpetrator of the terror act, who could face jail time but not expulsion. The bill also failed to specify the decision-making process for the interior minister, which could potentially involve an advisory committee. Practically speaking, the bill did not specify where and how to expel the family members, who would carry out the expulsion, or the duration of the expulsion. Afik also pointed out that the bill did not include a rescinding of the family member’s citizenship, and therefore he or she would retain full civil rights even if not physically in the country.

The legal representative of the justice ministry, Nadav Golani, said that the security consequences of the bill required discussion in Israel’s National Security Council, as well as a discussion on its potential consequences on Israel’s international standing. Far-right coalition MKs repeatedly disrupted Golani and accused justice ministry officials of intentionally tripping up the bill for ideological or political reasons. The MKs did not provide support for their claim.