Expulsion and status revocation

As noted in the previous State of the Occupation report, in November 2024, the Knesset enacted the Deportation of Families of Terrorists Law, 5785-2024 (Hebrew), which empowers the Minister of the Interior to deport Israeli citizens or residents who are first-degree relatives of individuals accused of terrorism for several years, under certain conditions set out in the law. This law is unique to Israel, and is an infringement on the universal right to residency and citizenship and the array of rights associated with such status, and sets no standards for application. In March 2025, HaMoked contacted the Attorney General and the Knesset’s legal advisor, demanding that they order the suspension of the law’s implementation due to its illegality. At this stage, the law is not being implemented.

In July 2025, several months after this law was enacted, the Knesset passed an amendment to the Entry into Israel Law, which allows revoking the residency of terrorists’ relatives. The amendment, which was rushed through the legislative process and is opposed by the Knesset’s legal advisor and the Attorney General, allows for the sweeping revocation of status, with no individual examination, from Palestinians with relatives who are implicated in security offenses, even if they maintain no contact with these relatives and even if the relatives are from broader family circles. The amendment also stipulates that any Palestinian who ever stayed in Israel without a permit, even for a single moment and regardless of their family and individual circumstances, will not be granted status in Israel for any reason for a period of 10 years. In August 2025, ACRI, HaMoked, and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice, seeking to repeal the amendment and for an interim order to halt its implementation pending a ruling. In the petition, the organizations stated the obvious, that punishing a person for someone else’s actions contravenes the most basic principles of justice and that the amendment enables the collective punishment of individuals who have committed no offense. The petition is still pending.

This amendment follows two previous amendments that directly target individuals accused of terrorism. The earlier amendment, from 2018, authorizes the Minister of the Interior to revoke the permanent residency of East Jerusalem residents for acts constituting a breach of allegiance to the State of Israel, such as acts of terrorism, espionage, or treason. The second amendment, from 2023 (Hebrew), permits stripping the residency or citizenship of individuals convicted of terrorism, sentenced to prison, and receiving financial support from the Palestinian Authority for their acts. The rule also applies if someone else receives support on their behalf. This later amendment contradicts the principles laid down by the High Court of Justice in July 2022, whereby citizenship revocation proceedings must include procedural safeguards that guarantee due process and ensure that no person is left without any status. The first two applications for status revocation pursuant to the law were submitted to the Jerusalem District Court in February 2026. Both cases concern residents of East Jerusalem who are citizens of Israel. A separate petition seeking the repeal of this amendment is pending.

In March 2026, under the 2018 amendment, an East Jerusalem resident was downgraded from permanent residency to an A/5 temporary stay visa. While the downgraded status allows him to reside in Jerusalem lawfully, it must be renewed every few years, subject to security screening and at the discretion of the Ministry of the Interior.

Should Israel continue to implement them, these laws and amendments will have singular, though not exclusive, impacts on residents of East Jerusalem. Beyond their punitive function, they also expand the bureaucratic toolkit used to facilitate the expulsion of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem and the revocation of their residency status.

Further reading:

HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Revocation of Residency in Jerusalem