The proposed legislation consists of two key sections: the first introduces an outright ban on granting residency or settlement permits to terrorists and their families. The second proposes stricter penalties for individuals from the Palestinian Authority or those entering via Judea and Samaria who are found to be staying illegally in Israel.
Under the current system, Arabs wishing to enter pre-1967 Israel from Judea and Samaria must apply for entry permits, unless they hold Israeli citizenship. The Committee approved the first part of the bill on Thursday, following the approval of the second section last week. The bill would affect both terrorists and their convicted family members.
This is not the first time such measures have been taken. In August 2023, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) instructed Major-General Ghassan Alian, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), to block the entry of family members of the Mount Hebron terrorists into pre-1967 Israel. Gallant emphasized the use of all available means to thwart terror in Judea and Samaria, noting that since the beginning of the year, thousands of Palestinians whose relatives carried out terror attacks against security forces and civilians had been denied entry.
Earlier, in October 2022, following a security evaluation by Defense Minister Benny Gantz (National Unity), it was decided to revoke the entry permits of 164 relatives of terrorists in the Nablus area. Additionally, in May 2022, after a series of terrorist attacks left 19 Israelis dead, Israel blocked the entry of 1,100 Palestinian Arabs whose family members had been involved in terrorist activities.
A senior security official commented, “We will not allow the families of terrorists to enter Israel for employment or trade. Every Palestinian contemplating terrorism knows their actions will have significant consequences for their families.”
0 Comments