Jewish Home to Push Exile Law for Families of Terrorists

Jewish Home chairperson and Education Minister Naftali Bennett plans to present to the cabinet a law that would allow the government to deport families of terrorists. The law, authored by MK Moti Yogev, would allow the deportation of families from Yehudah and Shomron to Gaza. “The terrorists are no longer afraid,” Bennett said. “The law has tied the hands of the Prime Minister and removed from the government the power of deterrence. We will restore it.”

Yogev proposed the law over six months ago, and it has been on the agenda of the Ministerial Law Committee ever since – with MKs postponing discussion of the bill, which is opposed by State Attorney Avichai Mandelblit, who believes the High Court will strike it down. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, on the other hand, supports the bill and believes it can be actualized.

There have been numerous attempts in the past to pass similar bills. In 2016, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz proposed a similar bill, that would allow the government to deport families of terrorists to either Syria or Gaza. The bill was supported by a wide variety of the coalition, including MKs from Likud, Jewish Home, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Yesh Atid and Yisrael Beytenu, which was a coalition member at the time. The government, however, did not support it, and it was never voted on by the Ministerial Law Committee.

Despite the opposition of the government, Yogev had planned to bring the bill for a vote last month as a private member’s bill, and called on MKs to support it. “Who is responsible for the security of Israelis – the government or the State Attorney? This law will restore deterrence, prevent terror attacks, and save lives.” Sources in Jewish Home said that they expected the government to support the law this time, given the recent uptick in terror attacks.