Members of Israel’s Knesset on Wednesday approved a bill barring the granting of residency status to Palestinians from Judea, Samaria and Gaza who are involved in terrorism, as well as to their relatives.
Likud Party Knesset member Amit Halevi submitted the Prohibition on Unlawful Stay and Residence in Israel Bill with the backing of Herzl and Merav Hajaj, the parents of Lt. Shir Hajaj, who was murdered in a 2017 terror attack.
“These bills that we are drawing up here will become the gatekeepers and protectors of soldiers and every citizen,” Knesset member Amit Halevi said in remarks shared by the Israeli parliament. He added, “This bill joins other bills, the characteristic of which is [targeting] terrorist infrastructure.”
Following the legislation’s passage, residency permits will no longer be granted to Palestinians convicted of terrorist acts or identified as terror operatives. The ban will also extend to their relatives—including parents, spouses, children, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces—effectively barring them from entering or residing in Israel.
The legislation also stipulates that Palestinians who illegally enter Israel’s pre-1967 borders from Judea, Samaria or Gaza will be barred from applying for a residency permit for 10 years. Additionally, the bill doubles the penalty for illegally crossing the Green Line, increasing the maximum prison sentence from one to two years.
The explanatory notes to the legislation state: “The mass slaughter that was committed [by Hamas] on Oct. 7, 2023, must serve as a clear and sharp warning sign to all those engaged in the task of protecting the security of the state and its citizens.”
“If the State of Israel practiced a ‘forgiving’ and ‘accepting’ attitude towards illegal aliens who are residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza until Oct. 7, then afterwards, its obligation to the security of its citizens requires it to re-examine the standards on this issue and other issues pertaining to terrorist infrastructures,” the explanatory notes state.
