(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch - The list of terrorists set to be released as part of the deal to free 33 hostages from Gaza is deeply disturbing. Many of these terrorists are individuals I "know" from my time in the Military Advocate General's Corps or from assisting terror victims since my retirement. Those set for release include 73 who hold Israeli citizenship or residency; 21 are serving life sentences - meaning they are murderers. Of the 73 to be released, 45 will be released into Israel, while the remaining 28 will be deported abroad. Israeli law grants the Minister of the Interior the authority to revoke citizenship or residency for anyone who has violated their duty of loyalty to the state and committed acts of terrorism. But this has not been done due to legal objections in Israeli courts. In international law, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness regulates the circumstances under which a state may revoke an individual's citizenship. According to Article 8(3), a person's citizenship can be revoked, even if the decision leaves them stateless, if they have breached their loyalty to the state, explicitly violated a prohibition by receiving or continuing to receive financial compensation/salary from another entity, or acted in a manner that harms the vital interests of the state. According to experience and security assessments, the ability to revoke citizenship or residency from Israeli terrorists is a powerful deterrent. However, as long as this tool remains unused, Israel forfeits a vital deterrent capability. The writer, former director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria, is director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative at the Jerusalem Center.
2025-01-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive