Israel passes law to deport relatives of attackers, including citizens

The Israeli parliament has passed a law allowing the government to deport the family members of people convicted of terrorism offences, including Israeli citizens.

The controversial legislation, proposed by a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, applies to first-degree relatives, meaning the parents, siblings or children of those found guilty of committing or supporting terrorism.

Israeli human rights organisations say the law is unconstitutional.

Some opposition members of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, suggested it is targeted only at Palestinian citizens of Israel, sometimes called Israeli Arabs.

Eran Shamir-Borer, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute and a former international law expert for the Israeli military, said that if the legislation reached the Supreme Court, it would likely to be struck down.

“The bottom line is this is completely non-constitutional and a clear conflict to Israel’s core values,” Mr Shamir-Borer told the Associated Press news agency.

Those deported will be sent to Gaza or to “another destination determined according to the circumstances".

Other than the military, ordinary Israeli citizens are not legally allowed to enter Gaza.

About 100 Israelis are thought to be being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas, including around 60 who are thought to still be alive.

Israeli citizens would retain their citizenship even after being expelled from the country. They would not be allowed to return for between seven and 15 years.

Permanent residents could be deported for between 10 and 20 years.

The majority of the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem hold permanent Israeli residency.

In addition, a five-year temporary order was approved allowing for prison sentences for children under the age of 14 convicted of murder as part of an act of terrorism or as part of the activities of a terrorist organisation.