JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Israel has begun the process of deporting four Israeli Arab detainees and revoking their citizenship for allegedly receiving financial stipends from the Palestinian Authority (PA) during their incarceration, Israeli media said on Wednesday.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the cases are in advanced stages under a law that allows the government to strip Israeli citizenship from individuals convicted of receiving funds from the PA in exchange for allegedly carrying out attacks against Israeli targets, the public broadcaster KAN reported.

The move follows a February 2023 amendment passed by Israel’s Knesset (parliament) with 95 votes in favor and 10 against, enabling the interior minister to petition the Supreme Court to revoke the citizenship or permanent residency of Israeli Arabs or Palestinians in East Jerusalem found to have accepted payments from the PA.

This marks the first time Israel has initiated citizenship revocation and deportation proceedings against Arab citizens under the amended law.

The amendment stipulates that, upon release from prison, those individuals can be expelled to PA-administered areas in the occupied West Bank or the Gaza Strip.

Katz claimed that the law had been frozen for two years due to internal opposition within the security establishment, but it is now being actively enforced.

The new policy paves the way for further decisions to revoke citizenship and deport individuals proven to have received PA funds, KAN said.

For decades, the PA has provided monthly stipends to the families of Palestinian prisoners as social support. Israel, however, claims these payments serve as incentives for attacks against Israelis.

Arab citizens make up approximately 20% of Israel’s population.