The Knesset on Monday voted in favor of extending by one year a racist order that prevents the law for the unification of families from being taken advantage of “to sneak terrorists and security threats into the country.”

The law requires that the backgrounds of all people who apply for Israeli residency on the basis of the unification of families – individuals whose parents, children, spouses, or other close relatives are not citizens of Israel – be checked to ensure that they candidate does not have a terror background, and has not been involved in security offenses against Israel. The law usually applies to Arab-Palestinian who married Israelis and wish to live in Israel, and not Palestinian Authority-controlled areas.

Hadash Chairman MK Mohammad Barakeh (left), MK Hanna Sweid and MK Dov Khenin (second from right) of Hadash party, at a protest in Jerusalem against the JNF-KKL involvement in the repeated demolishes of Al-Arakiv Bedouin village (Photo: Hadash)

The extension to the order was approved by a majority of 73 to 18, among them all Hadash Knesset members. Hadash Chairman, MK Mohammad Barakeh, who opposed extending the order, argued that it is a racist law that has nothing to do with defense and security. The State of Israel is the only country that interferes with the most intimate and personal relationship, he said. “The law constitutes collective punishment,” he added.

Related: Gov’t Approves Racist Law against Unification of Palestinian Families