Israel: Revoking citizenship is hostile measure against Palestinians, Arab MK tells envoys

Arab-Israeli parliamentarian Sami Abu Shehadeh has sent a letter to diplomatic missions and embassies in Israel briefing them about the government’s latest measures against Palestinian citizens, including a law to revoke their citizenship, Arab48.com reported on Wednesday.

The letter from the member of the National Democratic Alliance explained the dangers of the law which has been approved recently by the Israeli Supreme Court. It allows citizenship to be revoked from Arab Israelis accused of terrorism or national security violations.

“Israel does not tolerate Arabs and Palestinians under the pretext of fighting terror,” the Arab MK wrote in his letter. He noted that Israel’s labelling of six Palestinian rights groups as “terror entities” is part of the apartheid state’s strategy to fight “so-called terror.” The rights groups “were blacklisted only for defending Palestinian rights and disclosing Israeli crimes on both sides of the Green [1949 Armistice] Line.”

Moreover, Abu Shehadeh condemned the frequent remarks made by Western leaders who praise Israel for its “shared values”, and for describing Israel as a “democratic state” that respects the law. “These are absurd and irresponsible remarks which encourage continuous and systematic apartheid adopted by Israel against the Palestinians wherever they are.”

Abu Shehadeh concluded by saying: “We will continue knocking on all the doors of international bodies in order to expose the systematic and racist Israeli policies against our people.” The latest discriminatory law is, he said, “a dangerous precedent that is targeting us and we must use all legal and political means to abolish it.”

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